The city without Jews : a novel of our time

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THE

CITY WITHOUT JEWS

A NOVEL OF OUR TIME

BY

HUGO BETTAUER

TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN

BY

SALOMEA NEUMARK BRAININ

Authorized English Translation

BLOCH PUBLISHING COMPANY

NEW YORK 1927

Copyright, 1926, by
Bloch Publishing Co., Inc.

International Copyrights Secured
Second Printing

/

Printed in the U. S.

CONTENTS

PART I

CHAPTER

PAGE

I.

The Anti-Jewish Law .

• •

• 3

2.

Herr Schneuzel and His

Son-in-Law 23

3*

At Closing Time .

. .

• 27

4-

A Shot ....

•

• 30

5-

Girls Among Themselves

. •

• 35

6.

Dr. Schwertfeger

• V

• 39

7-

A Middle-Class Viennese Home .

. 48

8.

“My Dear Christians!”

• .

• 57

PART II

1. Lotte Spineder to Leo Strakosch,

22 Rue Foch, Paris . . -65

2. Rough Woolens — The Latest^ Style 72

3. The Old-Timer . 77

4. “Something He Cannot Finish” . 80

5. Henry Dufresne . 84

6. The End of the Tenants’ Protective

Law . . 94

7. Zwickerl Goes Into Bankruptcy . 99

iii

CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE

8. The Sweet, Gay Young Things . . 105

9. The End of the Hakenkreuzler . . 109

10. Cheap Summer-Resorts . . .114

11. A Stormy Debate . 12 1

12. The League of True Christians . . 125

13. A Melancholy Christmas . . .132

14. An Inflammatory Speech . . .137

15. Herr Laberl Turns .... 144

16. “Down With the Government!” . . 149

17. Preparations . 156

18. The Election . 165

19. A Disastrous Drink . . . .169

20. The Repeal of the Anti-Jewish Law 177

21. “My Beloved Jew!” .... 186

IV

INTRODUCTION

The City Without Jews! It sounds almost like a
jest, a paradox. The cosmopolitan will smile at the
title; yet both Jews and Christians will prick up
their ears and wonder: “Does such a thing exist?”

Some will consider this book merely a clever fan¬
tasy. Still, the reading of it will make them feel
that The City Without Jews is symptomatic of our
time.

One fine day a law is passed in the great city,
Vienna (but it might just as well have been New
York or London), expelling all Jews from the coun¬
try. Not only Jews and converted Jews must leave,
but also those of Jewish origin: that is, the children
of mixed marriages.

The law, which the most rabid Ku Klux Klans-
man, Hakenkreuzler, or anti-Semite could not have
conceived more skilfully even in his wildest dreams,
is rigorously enforced. “Unregistered merchants,
retail dealers and so-called commission agents must
leave the country within three months of the pas¬
sage of the law; registered proprietors of firms,
clerks, civil service employes, and manual laborers,

VI

THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

within four months; artists, scholars, physicians, at¬
torneys and the like, within five months. Directors
of corporations, banks, and industries that paid taxes
on an income of more than two hundred million
kronen in the past year, are given six months’ time.”

After six months, the city without Jews comes
into being.

As for Hugo Bettauer, its author — this whimsical
flight of his fancy cost him his life. In March, 1925,
not long after the publication of the novel, he was
killed by a zealous twenty-year old ‘Nordic’. At
the trial, the murderer declared himself content
with his deed, as he had resolved to save German
Kultur from degeneration, and believed that Bet¬
tauer was a menace to this Kultur.

But curiously enough Hugo Bettauer was himself
a good Christian, the scion of a Protestant Viennese
merchant family. Not a Jew — not an interested
propagandist! A talented journalist of the Danube
City, whose versatile pen mastered the novel as well
as the feuilleton.

What was Bettauer ’s crime? He wrote a novel
of our time. His journalistic temperament, his many
travels and adventures had brought him in contact
with all spheres of society. Twelve years of his life
were spent in New York— he knew metropolitan
life in both hemispheres, knew it as thoroughly and
intimately as only a finely discerning observer can.
That is why Bettauer’s City Without Jews became
a universal novel, transcending the geographical

INTRODUCTION

Vll

boundaries of Austria. That is also why Bettauer’s
Vienna will seem so familiar to New Yorkers, Lon¬
doners, even Parisians.

Wittily, fascinatingly, colorfully, Hugo Bettauer
builds the city without Jews. With a sure touch he
raises the curtain behind which this hundred per¬
cent Christian city works and plays. Nonchalantly,
with an ironic smile, the Viennese artist takes us to
the stock exchange, the theatre, the great department
stores, shows us the night life, the middle class
Viennese home, the Parliament and the cafe. We
see and enjoy the city without Jews in all its phases.
Dispassionately, Bettauer paints a modern picture
that lives and breathes. But why do we read the
novel as though it were a thrilling episode in con¬
temporary history? And why did Hugo Bettauer
receive the fatal bullet as royalty for his novel?

An attempt to answer this scientifically would
bring us to the fundamental question of the mutual
adaptability of Jews and non-Jews. It would touch
upon the race problem that still torments the world —
now more than ever — and which Bettauer knew so
well. Propagandist phrases could easily slip in,
phrases that would again stir up the ancient contro¬
versy between the Jewish and the Christian Weltan¬
schauung.

It would be unfair toward the author of this book.
For Bettauer successfully escaped the temptation to
propagandize.

The City Without Jews was built by Bettauer, the

Vlll

THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

fearless Christian. Explanation, comment, or an
analysis of his purpose, would be out of place, and
might be interpreted as an attempt to use his novel
as political propaganda.

In Europe, The City Without Jews, is arousing
an unabating interest. In less than a year, a quarter
of a million copies of the novel have been sold, an
unprecedented figure in German modern literature.
The translation for the American edition was made
from the fifty-fourth edition, following exactly the
simple, unaffected style of the original.

New York, 1926 The Translator

PART ONE

CHAPTER I.

THE ANTI- JEWISH LAW

SOLID human wall, extending from the Uni¬

versity to the Bellaria, surrounded the beauti-

**■ ful and imposing Parliament Building. All
Vienna seemed to have assembled on this June morn¬
ing to witness an historic event of incalculable im¬
portance. Businessmen and laborers, fashionable
ladies and women of the people, half-grown boys
and old men, young girls, little children, invalids
in rolling chairs — all were intermingled, shouting,
debating, and perspiring. And ever and again some¬
one suddenly felt the urge to deliver a speech before
his neighbors, ever and again there burst forth the
cry: “Throw out the Jews!”

Ordinarily it happened at such demonstrations
that people with hooked noses or conspicuously
black hair were given a thorough beating. But

3

4

THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

this time nothing of the sort occurred, for not a
Jew was in sight; and the cafes and banking-houses
of the Franzensring and Schottenring sagely taking
into account all possibilities, had closed their doors
and pulled down their shades.

Suddenly a deafening roar filled the air.

“Hail Dr. Karl Schwertfeger — Hail, hail, hail!
Hail the liberator of Austria ! ”

Slowly an open automobile rolled through the
human mass as it receded to make way. In the
car sat a powerful old man, his massive skull cov¬
ered with unruly tufts of white hair.

He took off his soft gray hat, nodded to the
jubilant crowd, and twisted his face into a smile.
But it was a sour smile, somehow belied by the two
furrows that ran downward from the corners of
his mouth. And the expression of his deep-set gray
eyes seemed somber rather than joyful.

Laughing girls crowded forward, swung them¬
selves on the running-board; one tossed flowers to
the great man, another, bolder, threw her arms
around Dr. Schwertfeger’s neck and kissed him on
the cheek. The chauffeur, apparently familiar with
his master’s reaction to such emotional outbursts,
made the car give a lurch forward, so that the girls
were suddenly thrown off backward. But they were

THE ANTI-JEWISH LAW

5

not hurt, for a dozen arms stretched out to catch
them as they fell.

Within the Parliament Building, however, the
vociferous enthusiasm of the street did not prevail;
in its place was feverish excitement, too intense to be
expressed aloud. The deputies, — not one of whom
was missing, — the ministers and ushers went about
in anxious silence; and even the overcrowded gal¬
leries made not the slightest noise.

Only whispers issued from the press tables, where
careless ease Jiad always been the rule. And a def¬
inite territorial division had been made. The com¬
pact Jewish majority of the reporters had crowded
its chairs together, while the representatives of the
Christian-Socialist and German-Nationalist papers
formed a group of their own. Formerly the Jewish
and Christian newspapermen had mingled freely —
in their profession they were not partisans, but only
colleagues. Furthermore, since the Jewish jour¬
nalists generally had more news, and were able to
turn it to better account, their anti-Semitic
brothers depended on them a good deal. Today,
however, the Christians, cast malevolent glances
toward the Jews; and when little Karpeles of the
Weltpost, who had just come in, greeted Dr. Wiesel
of the Wehr with a friendly “Good morning,” the
latter turned his back without responding.

6

THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

Newspapermen continued to pour in; among them
were representatives of the foreign press, just
arrived in Vienna for this occasion.

“Impossible to move,” growled Herglotz, of the
Christian Tag, whereupon a bearded little fellow
with a tremendous waistline, replied:

“Only a few days more, then we’ll have plenty of
room here!”

Subdued coughs, laughter, and smiles on the
one side, an exchange of significant glances on the
other.

A blond, pink-cheeked young man bowed slightly
to the left and to the right.

“I’m Holborn, of the London Telegraph. Got
here just an hour ago, and don’t know where I am.
Arrived in London day before yesterday after a six
months’ stay in Sydney — and an hour later I was
in the train again, on my way to Vienna. Our
managing editor, the old fool, told me nothing, but
only said: ‘Plenty of excitement in Vienna these
days — they’re throwing out the Jews. Go there and
cable me till the wires burn up!’ So it would be
very kind of you, I’d be eternally grateful, if you’d
tell me what it’s all about.”

This speech had been delivered in so droll an
Anglicized German that the tension was somewhat

THE ANTI-JEWISH LAW

7

relieved. Gesticulating violently, Minkus of the
Tagesbote took hold of his English colleague and
began:

“Now, I’ll explain everything to you . .

But Dr. Wiesel did not let him continue. “You
will pardon me, but it would be more appropriate
for this explanation to come from our side.”

A menacing tone, ominous emphasis on the word
“our.”

And in a trice Holborn was in the Christian
corner, where, in a few terse sentences, Wiesel
sketched the situation:

“As to what is going to happen, you will hear
that shortly from the lips of our Chancellor, Dr. Karl
Schwertfeger, who will go into the details of the law
for the expulsion of all non-Aryans from Austria.
Briefly, the history is as follows: After our so-
called financial recovery, which lasted for two years,
Austrian money again fell into a disorganized state.
And when the value of the krone had fallen to the
two hundredth, part of a centime, chaos set in. Minis¬
tries fell one after the other, disturbances occurred
every day there was looting of shops, to say nothing
of pogroms — the populace, desperate, stopped at no¬
thing, until finally new elections had to be called. The
Social-Democrats entered the campaign with their old

8

THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

program, while the Christian-Socialists swarmed
about their gifted leader, Dr. Karl Schwertfeger,
whose rallying-cry was: Throw out the Jews from
Austria! Now, as you may be aware,” — Holborn
nodded, though he knew nothing about it, — “the
result of the elections was a complete collapse of
the Social-Democrats, Communists, and Liberals.
Even the working masses voted for ‘throwing out
the Jews,’ and the Socialist party, formerly the
strongest, barely salvaged eleven seats. The Pan-
Germans, however, who came out with flying colors,
had also taken up the cry of ‘Throw out the Jews.’

“So, with his genius, his fearless energy, his
bold impetuosity and eloquence, Dr. Schwertfeger
succeeded in obtaining the consent of the League
of Nations for this great expulsion of the Jews;
for he had placed before the League the alternative
of the annexation of Austria to Germany or a free
hand in this matter. And now Schwertfeger is to
propose the law, which will certainly be passed.
You are, therefore, witnessing an historic . .

Calls of “Hush!” came from all sides. Wiesel
could not continue, for the Presiding Officer of the
House, a red- whiskered Tyrolese, flourished his
gavel and gave the floor to the Chancellor.

Sepulchral silence, through which the humming

THE ANTI-JEWISH LAW

9

of the ventilators sounded weirdly. A suppressed
cough, the rustling of papers in the press gallery —
everything was heard distinctly.

Inordinately tall although his head was thrust
forward and his shoulders stooped, the Chancellor
stood on the platform. His hands, clenched into
fists, rested on the desk; from under the bushy gray
brows his keen, glittering eyes sped over the
auditorium. He stood thus, motionless, until sud¬
denly, throwing back his head, he began with the
powerful voice that had always commanded attention
at even the most turbulent meetings:

“Ladies and gentlemen! I am about to propose
the law and the amendments to our constitution that
purpose nothing less than the expulsion of the non-
Aryan, — to be precise, of the Jewish elements from
Austria. Before I proceed to this, however, I wish
to make some purely personal remarks.

“For five years I have been the leader of the
Christian-Socialist party; and for a year I have been
Chancellor, having been chosen for this position by
an overwhelming majority of this House. During
these five years the so-called liberal papers and the
Social-Democratic sheets, — in short, all the papers
edited by Jews, — have depicted me as a sort of
bugbear, a rabid Jew-hater, a fanatic enemy of the

IO

THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

Jews and everything Jewish. Just today, when the
power of this press is approaching its irrevocable
end, I feel impelled to explain that all this is not
true. Yes, I have the courage to state today, from
this platform, that I am much more a friend than
a foe of the Jews!”

The hall rustled with whispers like a field from
which a flock of birds is rising.

“Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I like the Jews. Be¬
fore I entered the seething arena of politics I had
Jewish friends; in the lecture halls of our Alma
Mater I sat at the feet of Jewish teachers whom I
revered, and still revere. And I am always ready to
recognize— yes, to admire — the native virtues of the
Jews, their extraordinary intelligence, their strivings
for higher things, their model family life, their inter¬
nationalism, and their ability to adapt themselves to
any environment! ”

Cries of “Hear! Hear! ” were audible, the deputies
and visitors became tense with excitement. The
English journalist, who had not understood every¬
thing, curiously asked Dr. Wiesel whether the man
down there were not the spokesman of the Jews.

The Chancellor went on.

“In spite of this, — or, rather, because of it, — I
became more and more convinced, as the years

THE ANTI-JEWISH LAW

ii

passed, that we non- Jews can no longer live together
with the Jews, that we must either bend or break,
that we must give up either our Christian ways, our
own life and customs, or the Jews. Ladies and
gentlemen ! The trouble is simply that we Austrian
Aryans are no match for the Jews, that we are ruled,
oppressed, and violated by a small minority be¬
cause this minority possesses qualities which we
lack. The Latin peoples, the Anglo-Saxons, the
Yankees, even the North Germans and the Suabians
can digest the Jews because these nations equal, if
they do not surpass them in agility, tenacity, energy,
and business sense. We, however, cannot digest
them; with us they always remain a foreign element
that spreads over our entire body and finally en¬
slaves us. The vast majority of our people comes
from the mountain country; it is a simple and
sincere people, dreamy, playful, given to impractical
ideals, fond of music and calm contemplation of
nature, upright and pious, thoughtful and good.
These are marvellously beautiful qualities which
can give rise to a splendid culture and a wonderful
new life — if they are given free play and an op¬
portunity to develop. But the Jews among us did
not permit this quiet development. With their un¬
cannily keen intelligence, their worldliness and

12

THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

freedom of tradition, their catlike versatility and
their lightning comprehension — with all their
faculties, accentuated by centuries of oppression,
they overpowered us, became our masters, and
gained the upper hand in all our economic, spiritual
and cultural life.”

Shouts of “Bravo!” “Quite right!” “That’s so.”

With his bony right hand Dr. Schwertfeger raised
the glass to his thin lips, as his half ironic, half
satisfied gaze swept the hall.

“Let us look at our little Austria today. In
whose hands is the press, and therefore public
opinion? In the hands of the Jew! Who has piled
billions upon billions since the ill-starred year
1914? The Jew! Who controls the tremendous
circulation of our money, who sits at the director’s
desk in the great banks, who is the head of practical¬
ly all industries? The Jew! Who owns our thea¬
tres? The Jew! Who writes the plays that are
produced? The Jew! Who rides about in auto¬
mobiles, who revels in the night resorts, who crowds
the cafes and fashionable restaurants, who covers
himself and his wife with pearls and precious
stones? The Jew!

“Ladies and gentlemen! I have said, and still
maintain, that essentially, when considered ob-

THE ANTI- JEWISH LAW

i3

jectively, the Jew is an excellent individual. But
is not the rose-beetle with its iridescent wings es¬
sentially also a beautiful, excellent creature? And
notwithstanding this is it not destroyed by the care¬
ful gardener who is more interested in the rose than
in the beetle? — Is not the tiger a splendid animal,
strong, fearless, intelligent? And do we not hunt it
down because the struggle for our own existence
necessitates it? Only from this standpoint can we
Austrians view the Jewish problem. Either we, or
the Jew! Either we, who make up nine-tenths of
the population, must perish, or the Jew must go!
And now, when at last we have the power, we would
be fools — nay, criminals — we would be sinning
against ourselves and our children were we not to
make use of this power to expel the small minority
that is destroying us. Here we cannot consider
high-sounding words like humanity, justice, and
tolerance — for our existence, our very lives and the
lives of future generations are at stake! The past
few years have increased our wretchedness a
thousandfold; our state is completely bankrupt, we
are headed for disaster, — in a couple of years our
neighbors, under pretense of restoring order here,
will pounce upon us and tear our little country to
pieces. But the Jews, unaffected by all these events,

14

THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

will continue to thrive and flourish and to be the
masters of the situation. And as they have never
been Germans in their heart and soul, they will re¬
main the masters when conditions will have changed
and we are slaves!”

Fearful agitation prevailed throughout the house.
Savage cries burst forth: “That must never be!
Let us save ourselves and our children 1” And from
the street came the echo, from ten thousand
throats: “Throw out the Jews!”

Dr. Schwertfeger let the excitement run its
course, shook hands with his colleagues in the
ministry, and then spoke on the enforcement of the
law. For the sake of humanity, and in compliance
with the conditions specified by the League of Na¬
tions, great consideration and absolute justice
would be the rule. Everyone was to have the
right to take along as much of his property as con¬
sisted of cash, valuable papers, and jewelry, as well
as to sell his real estate and business as he pleased.
Enterprises that could not be sold would be taken
over by the state, the net profits for the past year,
as entered in the tax report, being taken as five
per cent of the total value. Thus, if an enterprise
had produced a net profit of half a million in the
past year, it could be redeemed for ten million.
The Chancellor’s lip curled in a malicious smile.

THE ANTI- JEWISH LAW

i5

“In the calculation of these amounts, as well as in
giving permission for the taking along of cash, we
shall of course be guided by the tax returns only.
Thus a man who has claimed to have no money
will not be permitted to take any with him; and if
he nevertheless has some property it will be con¬
fiscated. If a man has given the net profit of his
business as half a million, he may take along ten
million, even though it should develop that his
actual income was ten times more. In this way
many a sin will receive bitter retribution,” ob¬
served the speaker, as the hall rocked with laughter.
Then he continued:

“Those who do intellectual work and men who
receive a definite salary, who really own no property,
— like physicians, — will, on their departure, re¬
ceive from the state the amount they designated as
their yearly income on their tax report. So that if
a physician has stated his income to be three hun¬
dred thousand kronen, he will receive this sum. To
prevent any further evasion of taxes the law in¬
cludes the Draconian provision that any attempt to
take out sums greater than those permitted is to
be punished by death. Similarly, Jews or those of
Jewish origin who attempt to continue staying in
Austria secretly, do so under pain of death.

1 6 THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

“The law is to be enforced as follows:

“Unregistered merchants, retail-dealers, and so-
called commission agents must leave Austrian ter¬
ritory within three months of the passage of the
law; registered proprietors of firms, clerks, civil
service employes, and manual laborers, within four
months; artists, scholars, physicians, attorneys, and
the like, within five months. Directors of corpora¬
tions, banks, and industries that paid taxes on an
income of more than two hundred million kronen in
the past year are given six months’ time.

“And now I come to an important point, to which
I will ask you to give close attention. As you know,
the law of expulsion applies not only to Jews and
converted Jews, but to those of Jewish origin as well.
This term includes the children resulting from mixed
marriages. If, for example, a Christian woman
of pure Germanic- Aryan stock has married a
Jew, he and the children of this marriage are to be
expelled, while the wife is permitted to remain in
Austria. After mature deliberation, however, the
government has decided to consider the grand¬
children of mixed marriages as being not of Jewish
origin, but Aryan. Thus if a Christian has married
a Jewess the children will be expelled, but the
grandchildren may remain in the country, provided

THE ANTI-JEWISH LAW

17

that their parents have not mixed again with
Jewish blood. This, however, is absolutely the
only concession made by the law; no other excep¬
tions can be permitted. We have received requests
from many quarters to provide for certain exemp¬
tions, that, for example, the law should not apply
to people who have passed a certain age, to invalids,
and to Jews who have performed special services for
the state.

“Ladies and gentlemen! Had I listened to such
counsel the whole law would have become a farce.
Jewish money and influence would have worked
day and night, tens of thousands of exceptional
cases would have been fabricated, and fifty years
from now we would be in exactly the same position
as today. No! There will be no preference, no ex¬
ception, no pity, no passive collusion. The gov¬
ernment will place splendid hospital trains at the
disposal of the sick and infirm; and only those Jews
whom a medico-judicial investigation finds absolute¬
ly incapable of transportation will be permitted to
await their recovery or death here.”

Dr. Schwertfeger bowed slightly and sank heavily
into his chair. But his last pronouncement had had
a peculiar effect. Only a few cheers came from the
audience; a distinct, almost palpable cloud of un-

1 8 THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

easiness hung over the house; many faces reflected
unmistakable terror and anxiety; there was some
disturbance in the gallery, and a woman shrieking,
“My children!” fell in a swoon. And though
thunderous applause followed the Chancellor’s
speech, yet the little group of Social-Democrats
shouted in unison: “Shocking! Shameful! An
outrage!”

And now the red-bearded Presiding Officer gave
the floor to Professor Trumm, the Finance Minister.
He was a small man, dry and shrivelled as a prune,
endowed with a treble voice; and his speech suf¬
fered occasional interruptions that served to free
his tongue when it became caught between his gums
and the upper edge of his dental plate. He dis¬
cussed the financial aspects of the expulsion law
before a deeply interested house. The redemption
of Jewish concerns and real estate would make
heavy drains not only on the private capital of the
Christians but on the finances of the state as well.
Thousands of billions of kronen would barely suf¬
fice; and it had to be recognized that one of the
first results of the expulsion of the Jews would be
all sorts of financial difficulties.

“But, heaven be praised,” here the Finance
Minister crossed himself, “we will not stand alone

THE ANTI- JEWISH LAW

i9

in the dark days to come! I bring to the House the
joyful tidings that the true Christians of all the
world have united to help us. Not only has the
Austrian government conducted international
negotiations for months, but the Pius Association
has been making unobtrusive but effective
propaganda that is bearing splendid fruit. The
League of the Active Christians of the Scandinavian
Countries, whose members include many powerful
bankers and merchants, places at our disposal great
credits in Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian money.
The American industrial king, Jonathan Huxtable,
one of the richest men of the world and a zealous
champion of Christianity, has declared his readiness
to invest twenty million dollars in Austria. The
Christian League of France is mobilizing a hundred
million francs, — in short, billions of kronen will
have to be sent out of the country to let in a flood
of billions in gold!”

Tremendous enthusiasm throughout the house.
Several dozen deputies, hurriedly leaving their seats,
dashed to the telephones to give their banks orders
to sell foreign money. The switchboard could
hardly manage the rush of calls for “Karpeles &
Co.,” “Veilchenfeld & Son,” “Rosenstrauch &
Butterfrass,” “Kohn, Cohn, & Kohen ” and all the

20

THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

rest of the great banking houses. And while the
Finance Minister, who had wasted an entire minute
to free his imprisoned tongue, went on with his
speech, Holborn, the Englishman, grinned as he
told the other newspapermen:

“Jonathan Huxtable is a fine fellow! He’s been
raving and ranting against the Jews ever since his
wife eloped with a Jewish prize fighter. He’s a
strict prohibitionist, but he gets drunk every day on
a cordial he buys from his druggist. Drinking a
whole bottle of Eau de Cologne in one breath is said
to be nothing unusual for him. And if he’s going to
invest twenty million dollars here, he surely expects
to make fifty.”

Dr. Wiesel’s face expressed disapproval, while the
Jewish reporters quickly took down notes for some
last malicious items.

Speakers, pro and con, came forward. The
Social-Democrats attacked the law; but when
Weitherz, their leader, in calm and measured terms
expressed his indignation and called the proposed
measure a disgrace to humanity, a terrific uproar
arose, the galleries threw keys and crumpled paper
at the Social-Democrats, a fist fight ensued, and the
small opposition left the hall under protest. Pastor
Zweibacher lauded Dr. Schwertfeger as a modern

THE ANTI- JEWISH LAW

21

apostle who deserved canonization; the Pan-Ger¬
man deputies Wondratschek and Jiratschek, how¬
ever, discussed the law from the racial point of
view only, and Jiratschek, who spoke with a
pronounced Bohemian accent, wept with emotion
and closed with the words: “Wotan is among us!”

The last speaker, received with cries of “Hep!
Hep!” and jeering “Ai-wai” calls, was the solitary
Zionist deputy, the engineer Minkus Wassertrilling.
With folded arms the tall, slender, handsome young
man waited until order was restored, and then said:

“My dear disciples of the Jew who, in order to
save humanity, was foolish enough to let himself be
crucified! ”

Vehement interjections of “Throw out the Jews!”

“Yes, gentlemen, I join your cry of ‘Throw out
the Jews!’ And I will gladly cast my vote in favor
of this law. We Zionists welcome it, for it falls in
line with all our aims and tendencies. About half
of the five hundred thousand Jews expelled by this
law will unite under the Zionist standard, and I know
that the others will be received with open arms in
France and England, Italy and America, Spain and
the Balkan countries. I am not worried about the
fate of my people — what your spiteful malice and
stupidity intend as a curse will become a blessing.”

22

THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

The hooting that again broke out drowned the
rest of his speech, and finally the Zionist also was
pushed out of the hall.

When the roll was called, therefore, the law was
passed unanimously; and that same day it was
rushed through the committee and the second and
third readings.

Late at night, when the deputies were at last able
to leave the hall, they saw Vienna illuminated for
a celebration. Red and white flags waved over all
the public buildings, fireworks were displayed, and
until long after midnight processions marched past
the Chancellor’s palace to cheer Dr. Schwertfeger
and extol him as the liberator of Austria.

CHAPTER II.

HERR SCHNEUZEL AND HIS
SON-IN-LAW

The next morning — it was a Sunday — Antonius
Schneuzel, member of the National Assembly, the
Municipal Council, the Board of Overseers of the
Poor, and the Board of Trade, appeared at the
family breakfast table a good deal the worse for his
zealous celebration of the victory; and immediately
he sensed trouble in the air. His wife’s nose seemed
longer than ever — a signal of approaching storm;
the eyes of his daughter, Frau Corroni, were swollen;
her husband, the young business man Alois Corroni,
greeted his father-in-law with an impudent and
scornful smile; and when Herr Schneuzel, worried
and confused, let his little eyes rove about the table,
his two grandchildren, Lintschi and Hansl, burst into
a fearful howl.

“Why, what in the world is the matter?”

Frau Schneuzel held her arms akimbo.

“What’s the matter, you idiot? Nothing’s the
matter, except that you, you old fool, have helped

23

24

THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

drive your daughter and your grandchildren out of
the country!”

“Why, how in the world — ” stammered Herr
Schneuzel. But the horrible truth began to dawn
upon him. Quite right, — in the course of the years
he had entirely forgotten that in his early youth his
son-in-law, Herr Alois Corroni, had borne the name
of Sami Cohn, — that he had been able to stand on
his own feet when he was received into the arms of
the Church. And now he would have to get out,
and with him would go the children, who were of
Jewish origin!

“It’s a mean trick,” Frau Corroni sobbed into
her handkerchief. “What’ll I do with the children
now? Perhaps you want me to emigrate to Jeru¬
salem, you unnatural father, you?”

“It really is going a little too far,” Herr Corroni
now declared, emphasizing every word, “to chase a
man of my sort out of the country like a mad dog.
I dare say I am at least as good a Christian as a
thousand others who spend all day in the barroom.
— To drive out a man like me, whose children are
growing up in the Christian faith!”

Herr Schneuzel wanted to reply, and muttered
something about a great and sacred cause, about
principles that could give no consideration to in-

SCHNEUZEL AND HIS SON-XN-LAW 25

dividual cases. But no sooner had he begun than he
felt his spouse seizing him by his thin hair; nor did
she relax her grip before she had pulled out a good
handful of the ever scantier foliage.

“Imbeciles, that’s what you are, all of you! You
can go to the devil, you and your Christianity!
Hasn’t Loisl always been good to our Annerl?
Didn’t he give her a muskrat coat, doesn’t he raise
the children like princes? You should thank God
she got a Jew, and not a fellow like you, a drunkard
and rowdy!”

“I ain’t a-goin’ to Jerusalem,” Lintschi now
wailed, while Hans grasped the opportunity to
snatch the sugar roll from grandfather’s plate.

When the uproar was at its height Pepik, the cook,
came in, resolutely cleared the table, and calmly
announced :

“I’m goin’! I’m goin’ to marry my Isidor, as is
a clerk in the co-op’rative store, an’ if he has to
get out I’ll get out with him. I wouldn’t care if the
dep’ties and the Chancer would all hang theirselves.”

After the excitement had died down Herr Corroni
gave a calm exposition of the situation.

“Of course I’m not even dreaming of emigrating to
Palestine, if for no other reason than that they
wouldn’t let me in, since I’m a converted Jew. No;

26

THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

I have a brother in Hamburg, — Uncle Eduard,
you know; and though he is angry with me because
of my conversion, he won’t leave me in the lurch
now. Jews don’t forget family ties, thank God,”
(these words were punctuated by a cutting glance
at Schneuzel). “And there I will build up a new
future for myself and my family — unless Annerl
would prefer to stay with you.”

Whereupon Frau Anna, tired and faded as is
usual after fifteen years of married life, suddenly
recovered the pink cheeks of her youth, and, fondly
throwing her arms about the neck of Alois Corroni,
(nee Sami Cohn), kissed him as a bride kisses her
bridegroom, and really looked like a girl again.
And finally Herr Schneuzel, desperate and altogether
upset, had to promise to give his son-in-law a mil¬
lion to take along to Hamburg as a sort of corner¬
stone for his new future.

In the afternoon Schneuzel, member of the Na¬
tional Assembly, the Municipal Council, and the
Board of Overseers of the Poor, went alone to a
Sievering bar, and began to fight with a crowd that
was still shouting “Throw out the Jews!” And he
broke his bottle over the head of one of the shouting
celebrants, wherefor he received a most terrible
thrashing.

CHAPTER III.

AT CLOSING TIME

A talk in a niche beside a window of the Cafe
Wogerer, opposite the Stock Exchange, between
Herr Strauss, proprietor of a banking house, and his
nephew, Siegfried Steiner, a medical student.
Similar conversations were taking place at every
table; and on this day, far from being boisterous,
they were carried on almost inaudibly, with much
gesturing.

The young man was shaking his uncle’s hand.

“I thank you, dear Uncle, for promising to take
me to London with you. That’s a great consola¬
tion for me, for, between ourselves — Jerusalem —
never! Not for me! Nothing but Jews — I can’t
imagine it!”

The uncle smiled a slow smile. “I don’t give a
rap about Jerusalem myself. In London I’ll go
into partnership with my old friend Moe Seegward,
who has a fine brokerage house there.”

27

28

THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

Siegfried Steiner leaned forward and whispered:
“I’d like to know one thing, Uncle. You surely
didn’t enter the actual amount of your fortune
and income in your tax report. So how are you
going to get your money over there, considering
that since yesterday all our letters are being cen¬
sored?”

The uncle let the ashes of his cigar fall on his
vest.

“Chammer! Why does one have Christian
friends? I went to see Schuster, the manufacturer,
today; and, confidentially I gave him a billion in
securities and cash, for which he gave me a draft
on a London bank. Of course the ganef doesn’t do
it for nothing, but makes quite a bit on this transac¬
tion.”

The nephew nodded with satisfaction; and at
thirty other tables various other conversations also
ended with nods of satisfaction.

An old Jew in a caftan, and with cork-screw
curls, came in and went from table to table, re¬
peating his little speech: “Give alms to an old Jew
who lost everything he had in the Lemberg pogrom! ”

Someone called from one of the tables: “Tell me,
old man, where’ll you go now?”

The' old fellow wagged his head. “Herrleben, if

AT CLOSING TIME

29

I could get out of the burning Lemberg Ghetto
and reach Vienna, I guess I’ll find some place to
go to from Vienna. It’s all the same to me whether
I schnorr in Vienna, or Berlin, or Paris. Only I
won’t talk about the pogrom any more, but I’ll tell
’em how they threw out an old Jew like me. — Tell
me, Herrleben, do you think it’s good to buy Siemens
before the Exchange closes?”

CHAPTER IV.

A SHOT

A group of friends had gathered in the villa of
Herbert Villoner, the author, in Alt-Aussee. Well-
known men of letters, painters, sculptors, musicians,
publishers. As a rule they went to the country re¬
sorts only after the summer had reached its height;
but this year they had fled from the city in June, to
escape as much as possible of the filthy spray of
Viennese politics.

The evening meal was over. They were sitting on
the terrace, leaning back in their wicker chairs; the
lovely lake lay below, mirroring the moon — into the
motionless air curled wreaths of cigarette smoke.
Everyone was absorbed with his own thoughts, until
Villoner broke the profound silence.

'‘So there is no doubt that most of us are spending
our last summer in Aussee, and will have to shake
the dust from our feet and proceed into foreign lands
like vagabonds. Odd, isn’t it? My father, a famous

30

A SHOT

3i

physician who contributed not a little to the fame
of the Viennese medical school — my grandfather, a
merchant of Mariahilf whose family had long been
resident there — and myself. Well, they say that my
dramas and novels express the essence of Viennese
life, that no one has matched my knowledge and
descriptions of Viennese youth and the gay young
thing. But now all this counts for nothing — I am
merely an alien Jew, and must get out like some
Galician refugee washed into Vienna on a tide of
speculation.”

“Still,” Max Seider, a young poet, said in a low,
quivering voice, “you will be able to feel at home
even when you are far away from your ungrateful
native land. Berlin will receive you with open arms,
the intellectuals there are already planning to honor
you. You are so strong and mature that you will be
able to produce great works wherever you may be.
But what can I do? I am only at the beginning, I
can live and work only when I stroll through the
green Wienerwald, when the graceful outline of the
Kahlenberg shows me my way. From them an in¬
exhaustible fountain of life flows forth. I must labor
and struggle for every line, for every stanza — I can
do this only in Vienna.”

“Nonsense,” Wallner, a composer, exclaimed

THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

o-

angrily. "The devil take your Vienna and all the
blockheads in it! I'm going to the South of Ger¬
many, where I'll rent a little house in the Black
Forest and live like a lord with my Lene. Won't
we, darling?"

The fair-haired young woman suffered her hus¬
band to lay her Madonna-like little head on his
shoulder; but the shadow of a malicious smile
hovered on her voluptuous lips as she exchanged a
significant glance with the playwright Walter
Haberer. The breast of the latter swelled with
triumph. He knew that the composer’s wife would
stay there — no one could force her to accompany her
husband into exile. .And they had agreed that when
the husband would at last be out of the way she
would become his. — But not only she, — all Vienna,
all Austria would be his! For all those who had
pushed him into the background, all those whose
plays were being produced while his grew mouldy in
the pigeon-holes of the directors' desks — all of them,
Villoner and Seider, Hoff and Thai, Meier and
Marich, all would have to go away and leave him
to rule the realm of the Muses.

Fr3U Lene nodded and smiled at him while her
husband lovingly stroked her cheek.

A SHOT

33

With a thunderous roar of laughter Armin Horch,
the great actor, burst forth:

“Gentlemen, now it must be told! I, too, will
have to leave Austria! For I, whom the Wehr and
other papers have always extolled as the ideal of
Aryan beauty,— I must confess to my Jewish
descent. My father came from Brody, and his name
was not Horch, but Storch!”

Peals of laughter broke out, the mirth became
boundless, appropriate anecdotes were told.

“And you, Herr Pinkus — where will you transfer
your publishing house?” someone asked the stout
little publisher with the bowed legs and the un¬
mistakably Jewish features.

“I? I stay here! Don’t you know that I’m a

genuine Christian?”

And when everybody laughed he said, with a
serene smile:

“All jokes aside, I am an unadulterated goy! My
grandfather, Amsel Pinkus, was a cloth dealer in
Frankfurt am Main, and a good, pious Jew. But
when he fell in love with my grandmother, Christine
Haberle, a little singer of Stuttgart, he became con¬
verted, as she wouldn’t marry him otherwise. Well,
my father also married a Christian girl, so that I’m
a third-generation Christian ; and therefore I won t

34 THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

be expelled, although I look and act exactly like
my grandfather.”

“Long live Pinkus, the Christian,” merrily cried
the host, and, laughing, all raised their glasses. Just
then, like the lash of a whip, a report sounded from
the lake. And Villoner, filled with a strange premoni¬
tion, cried: “Where is Seider?”

But people were already bringing up the body of
the young poet. He had shot himself, down there
beside the lake, so that his sensitive, weary soul
would not have to starve in a foreign land.

CHAPTER V.

GIRLS AMONG THEMSELVES

Panic prevailed in Lona’s house, in the Gumpen-
dorferstrasse. Eight young ladies, all superlatively
beautiful, had already gathered there, and still the
stout housekeeper, Frau Kathi Schoberlechner, had
to open the door again and again to let in new ar¬
rivals.

The drawing-room was permeated with a strong
aroma of Houbigant, Ambre, Coty Rouge, and
cigarettes; golden, red, chestnut and dusky heads,
diamonds and pearls shone and glittered. All were
dressed in silks and laces, only Lona wore a fragrant
negligee, open in front so that her snow-white bosom
almost burst forth; and her stockingless feet were
encased in little red mules.

Black-haired Yvonne wept as if her heart would
break, while red-headed Margit pounded on the
table and cried angrily:

“We got to protes’! If I ever get hold o’ one o’
them dep’ties, I’ll scratch ’is eyes out for ’im!”

35

36

THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

“Wotta dirty trick! W’at they expec’ us to do
w’en they throw out the Jews?”

Yvonne wept more passionately. “An’ jus’ now,
w’en Fredi Poliak jus’ ordered a new car for me.”

“I’m gettin’ ten million a month from Reizes,
w’at I been goin’ with fer two weeks. I’d like to
know if them Christian gents’ll be so free with their
money?”

“Y’know, I got that Zwitterbauch from Mahrisch-
Ostrau, w’at keeps me altogether, and comes to
Vienna on’y for a week outa ev’ry month! ”

A voluptuous golden-haired Juno crossed her
beautiful though rather thick -set legs so that her
blue silk garters peeped out, drank a little glass of
cointreau, and said in a resonant alto:

“Children, I think I’ve had more experience than
all the rest of you put together. And all I can say
is that after the Jews are gone we’ll either have to
starve or look around for jobs as cloak-room maids
in the cafes. Only the Jews leave money behind
’em — the rest of ’em all want a lot of loving and no
expense! I went with Baron Stummerl, of the
Foreign Office, for ten years — and in those ten years
he gave me a gold bracelet, a fur neckpiece, and a
thousand gulden. I was lucky I had Herschmann
of the Anglobank at the same time, or I might actu-

GIRLS AMONG THEMSELVES

37

ally have had to go to work. Since then I’ve gone
in for Jews only!”

Nervously Claire toyed with the diamond-studded
gold cross she wore on a platinum chain. “Wonder
what Karl’ll say when I stop gettin’ things from Dr.
Baruch!”

New plaints arose, wails filled the air. In the ex¬
citement of recent events they had not thought of
this: What would become of the friends they loved
and supported, after the friends who paid would be
gone?

Just then Frau Kathi ushered in one of these
friends. — Pepi represented the ideal of the well-
dressed man. Impeccable from his soft gray velvet
hat and his hand-knit tie to his tan oxfords and the
dark blue silk socks.

Sobbing, the charming black-haired Yvonne fell
into the arms of her beloved. All greeted him
noisily, — he was pelted with a shower of calls and
questions. Calmly Pepi sank back into an arm¬
chair, took Yvonne on his knee, pinched the naked
calves of Lona, (who sat beside him), and, after
permitting the girls to put a cigarette into his mouth,
observed:

“There’s nothing to do, my dears, but leave the
country, too!”

38

THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

“Yes,” countered clever, golden-haired Carola,
“but where’ll you get your passport, and who’ll let
you in?”

“Very simple,” laughed Pepi. “Tomorrow I’ll go
to the City Hall, and renounce all religious affilia¬
tions. The day after I go to the Jewish synagogue,
assure the Hebrew race of my staunch support, and
become a Jew — without the operation, I hope. Then
we’ll get married, take the money that’s coming to
us from the government, and settle down somewhere
else, as provided by the League of Nations. We’ll
go to Paris, or Brussels, or some other place where
things are lively.”

Yvonne laughed through her tears. “Go on!
What’ll I do in Paris after I’m married?”

“Silly! No one’ll have to know we’re married!
You rent a flat, find a friend who’ll keep you, and
I’ll take care of your heart as always.”

During the next few days the liberal papers re¬
ported that hundreds of valiant Christian youths,
indignant at the injustice done the Jews, had
demonstratively determined on their conversion to
the Jewish faith, that they might share the fate of
the sorely tried people of Israel.

CHAPTER VI.

DR. SCHWERTFEGER

On a warm September day the Chancellor — who,
being also the Minister for Foreign Affairs, resided
in the Foreign Office — stood on his balcony and,
looking past the street, watched the doings in the
public park. But the movement there seemed less
animated than in past years, — only a few white-
enameled baby carriages rolled over the paths, and
in spite of the mild weather the chairs and benches
were almost unoccupied.

Someone knocked at the door. Sharply the
Chancellor called “Come in!” and his departmental
chief, Dr. Fronz, entered.

At the end of June, shortly after the passage of
the expulsion law, Schwertfeger had gone to the
Tyrol to recuperate after the nervous strain of the
great responsibility and hard work of the previous
weeks. For more than two months he lived in¬
cognito in a village near the Arlberg. Except for his

39

40

THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

departmental chief no one knew his whereabouts;
he permitted no letters or reports to be sent to him,
paid no attention to current events, and let Fronz
write him only of unusually important occurrences.
As a matter of fact, everything had been provided
for: The chief of the Viennese police and the cap¬
tains of the various districts had received precise in¬
structions, and Parliament had adjourned until
autumn. Therefore Dr. Schwertfeger felt that he
could be dispensed with, and considered it his duty
to gather new strength and energy for the tasks to
come. He; had returned to Vienna this morning; and
now Fronz was to give him a detailed report. After
various departmental matters had been disposed of,
Schwertfeger, with a thud, sat down before his desk,
took pen and paper for stenographic notes, and,
seeming very calm and cool though his every nerve
was vibrating with excitement, said;

“Now, dear friend, tell me about the execution
and visible results of the new law so far. How is our
financial situation? I’m entirely in the dark, you
know.”

Dr. Fronz cleared his throat, and began:

“Financially, things aren’t running as smoothly
as we had hoped. At first the krone rose by leaps
and bounds to the hundredth part of a centime in

DR. SCHWERTFEGER

4i

Zurich; then there were some slight though insignif¬
icant fluctuations, and since the end of July the
krone has not progressed, but is remaining stationary,
in spite of the enormous influx of gold from the
treasuries of the great Christian associations and of
the banker Huxtable. Strangely enough, our hopes
for large payments from the exiles have not mate¬
rialized as yet. No considerable amounts in either
kronen or foreign securities are gravitating toward
the revenue offices. It seems that our Christian
fellow-citizens include thousands of parasites who
unscrupulously take over the excess property of the
Jews, taxes on which had been withheld fraudulent¬
ly; and in return they give the Jews cheques on for¬
eign banks.”

“That was only to be expected,” said the Chan¬
cellor, a contemptuous smile playing on his com¬
pressed lips. “All of them, Jew and Christian, are
selfish and grasping!”

“The Jew papers mustn’t hear that,” thought
Fronz as he continued:

“As I may conclude from the extremely pes¬
simistic report of our Finance Minister, Professor
Trumm, the expulsion of the Jews will burden us
with enormous debts, payable in gold, while the cir-

42

THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

culation of our bank notes will not be diminished
to any appreciable extent.”

“Is everything going smoothly in the liquidation
and taking over of the financial houses, banks, and
corporations?”

“In this connection everything is in full swing;
but unfortunately it seems that our native capital¬
ists are either unwilling or unable to take over the
large undertakings, so that the overwhelming
majority of the new entrepreneurs are foreigners.
Already the Landerbank, the Kreditanstalt, the
Anglobank, the Escompte-Gesellschaft, and other
great banks have fallen into the hands of Italians,
Englishmen, Frenchmen, Czechoslovaks, and the
like, as have also our great industrial enterprises.
Only today a Dutch syndicate has taken over the
Simmering locomotive factory. Of course we’re
devilish careful that no foreign Jews worm them¬
selves into the country in this way, and every sale
contract emphasizes the clause that denies the
privilege of either temporary of permanent sojourn
in Austria to foreign Jews also. But there is no way
of preventing Jews from being included among the
stockholders and directors of the foreign companies
which are buying up our corporations.”

DR. SCHWERTFEGER

43

THe Chancellor rested his massive round fore¬
head on his bony hand; with a wave of his hand he
dismissed all unpleasant thoughts, and said evenly:

“Transitory manifestations, which will take care
of themselves later. How is the expulsion going
on?”

“Exactly as provided by the law. Both the police
and the railway bureau are doing excellent work;
an average of ten trains full of exiles leaves
Austria every day, going in all directions; and so
far about four hundred thousand Jews have left
the country.”

Schwertfeger looked up in amazement. “How
can that be? We had intended to exile about half
a million. And now, when only a third of the cal¬
culated time has passed, we are through with four-
fifths of them?”

Dr. Fronz smiled feebly. “We underestimated
the great number of converts and of people of
Jewish extraction. Today the state police, having
a better view of the situation, no longer count with
half a million, but with eight hundred thousand, per¬
haps even a million persons who are subject to the
law. I might mention, incidentally, that the ex¬
pulsion has had some untoward consequences,
frequently very unpleasant, sometimes merely

44

THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

grotesque. Ten Christian-Social deputies had to be
expelled as being of Jewish origin; almost a third of
the Christian newspapermen were affected either
directly or through members of their families. It
has developed that our best Christian citizens are
steeped in Israel — our oldest families are being torn
apart. Indeed, there has occurred something that
has made us the laughing-stock of not only the Jew¬
ish papers, which of course will badger us to the
last minute, but of the foreign press as well. A
sister of the princely Archbishop of Austria, Cardinal
Rossi, is married to a Jew, and his brother to a
Jewess, so that the law robs His Eminence of his
closest relatives, including all his nieces and
nephews! Perhaps it would be advisable, under
these circumstances, to submit to the National As¬
sembly an amendment to the law, providing that in
certain cases persons of Jewish origin be permitted
to stay. . . .”

The Chancellor sprang to his feet and brought
down his fist on the desk with such violence that the
ink spattered out from its container.

“Never! Never, while I am in office. The
granting of any such exceptions would make the
entire law a universal joke, international Jewry
would celebrate an unprecedented triumph, and all

DR. SCHWERTFEGER

45

doors would be opened wide to corruption and
bribery. You know our regional and government
clerks with their open hands and empty pockets 1
No, there can be no exceptions, the grief of individual
families may not shake the foundations of the law!
The war that we waged in the name of the Haps-
burgs cost a million lives — and no one dared say a
word. Compared to that, what is a little incon¬
venience or vexation for a few thousand, or a hun¬
dred thousand persons? I will ask you to instruct
the Christian papers accordingly. Better still, let
the political press bureau immediately send out
a statement on this to the papers. And I beg you
never again to let yourself become the vehicle for
such suggestions!”

Paling, Dr. Fronz bowed.

“Then it would be superfluous for me to tell
Your Excellency of the terribly pitiful scenes that
occur every day at the departure of the evacuation
trains — scenes which often become so heart-rend¬
ing that even the mob, gathered about the outgoing
trains to abuse the exiles, is moved to silence and
tears.”

“Such scenes were foreseen, and are inevitable!
Let the police be instructed immediately to shut
off the railroad stations, arrange that wherever pos-

46

THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

sible the trains should leave at night, and see to it
that the main stations should not be used, but only
the shunting stations outside the city. And now one
more question: How do people in general view the
execution of the law?”

“With tremendous enthusiasm, of course. The
police are having a hundred clever plain-clothes men
mingle in the crowds and make observations. And
they are unanimous in reporting that the Christian
population is actually delirious with joy, and is ex¬
pecting an early change for the better in general
conditions, a decrease in the price of food, and a
more equalized distribution of wealth. Even among
the workingmen who are still organized as Social-
Democrats there is great satisfaction with the exodus
of the Jews. On the other hand, however, it cannot
be denied that the populace is excited and uncertain.
No one knows what the future will bring, the masses
live from hand to mouth, there is amazing extrav¬
agance among the lower classes, and intoxication is
increasing from day to day.

“An important factor in the prevalent high spirits
is the sudden end of the housing shortage. Since
the beginning of July forty thousand apartments,
hitherto occupied by Jews, have been vacated in
Vienna alone. A direct result of this is a veritable

DR. SCHWERTFEGER

47

flood of weddings, — the priests have to marry ten
or twenty couples at a time.”

Schwertfeger, who was a bachelor, nodded and
smiled with satisfaction. “I think we’ve done
enough for today. Now that I have a more or less
complete view of the situation I’ll settle down with
the reports of the various ministries.”

A nod, and the departmental chief was dismissed.
But Fronz remained in the room and, discreetly
clearing his throat, regained the attention of the
Chancellor, who had already opened one of his re¬
ports.

“I should like to inform Your Excellency that the
Municipal Council of Vienna has decided, by a great
majority, to change the name of the Schottenring
to ‘Dr. Karl Schwertfeger Ring,’ and that a similar
renaming of streets and squares has been resolved
upon by three hundred other Austrian, municipalities.
In Innsbruck they have even organized a monument
committee that expects to erect a marble monument
to Your Excellency next year.”

The Chancellor rose, went over to the balcony,
and again looked down on the park; furiously he
paced twice through the large room before he said:

“Put a stop to all such tributes! Let them be
postponed until we celebrate the tenth anniversary
of the liberation of Vienna from the Jews! ”

CHAPTER VII

A MIDDLE-CLASS VIENNESE HOME

Christmas Eve in the home of Hof rat Franz
Spineder. The little yellow brick house, which the
Hofrat had inherited from his grandfather, lay far
out in Grinzing, beyond the end of the tramway
line. Viewed from the outside the one-story house
with a high gate of green-painted wood and the
green shades looked almost primitive; but when
one opened the gate and saw the courtyard with its
old-fashioned pump, one stopped short, amazed and
delighted. The courtyard gradually developed into
a gently sloping garden that seemed almost endless.
In the summer wall-flowers, tulips, roses, and carna¬
tions shone in southern splendor, — behind the orna¬
mental garden hundreds of trees were bowed to the
ground under their burden of apples, pears, apricots,
plums, and cherries. But the orchard was not the
end of the garden, which rose steeply through a
vineyard to a little Old Viennese summer-house

48

A MIDDLE-CLASS VIENNESE HOME 49

with multicolored windows, perched on the crest of
the hill.

Enchanting as the unsuspected garden, were the
furnishings of the living-room. Ancient, comfort¬
able, stiff and graceful furniture of the Baroque,
Congress, and Biedermeier periods, valuable etch¬
ings and paintings on the walls, two genuine Wald-
miillers, a Schwind in the drawing-room, beautiful
glassware of many colors, Old Viennese porcelain,
sparkling silver in glass cases and on the side-board,
— one only had to close one’s eyes to see men and
women in the costume of Maria Theresa’s time and
in the Biedermeier coat.

Franz Spineder was a government official, as his
father and grandfather had been before him; how¬
ever, he was not dependent on his salary from the
Ministry of Education, but possessed considerable
private means. Even the house with its enormous
garden and its valuable furnishings represented mil¬
lions at the current rate. Besides, his wife came of
the Halbhuber family, whose remote ancestors had
amassed great wealth as tanners and manufacturers
of leather goods. And as the Spineders now had
only one child, Lotte, who was just eighteen, they
could live comfortably in spite of the high prices
and the confusion of the times.

THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

So

Silently Lotte and Frau Spineder decorated the
Christmas tree, attached chocolate cookies, candies,
glass balls, and candles to the fragrant boughs.
Frau Spineder, a plump, still pretty woman, cast
a side-long glance toward her slender, blonde, strik¬
ingly beautiful and charming daughter.

“Lotte! Now you’ve tears in your eyes again!
Think of Papa — tonight, at least, he wants to see
cheerful faces! And don’t make poor Leo’s heart
any heavier!”

Lotte dropped a little chocolate chimney-sweep so
that his head broke off; covering her face with her
hands, she leaned on her mother’s shoulder and
began to sob bitterly.

“My heart’s breaking, Mother! You’ll see, I
won’t survive Leo’s having to leave the country!
Please, Mother — let me go with him!”

Tenderly Frau Spineder, whose eyes also were
moist, stroked the soft, shimmering golden hair of
her daughter.

“You can’t do it, Lotte! Remember — Papa is
sixty, and since that dreadful war took our son
he has only you. You can’t expect him to let you go
out into an uncertain future, however fond he is of
Leo. Just think: Leo is going to Paris; with the
depreciation of the krone we couldn’t possibly sup-

A MIDDLE-CLASS VIENNESE HOME 51

port you with francs, and you might come to want
without Papa’s being able to help you. But if he’s
alone Leo will make his way, and you’re both still so
young that you can wait for better times. Now
hush — Father’s coming! And the bell’s ringing —
that must be Leo.”

Herr Spineder, who now came into the room to
light the candles, was typical of the old Austrian
Hofrat at his best. Fond of music and a skilled in¬
strumentalist, highly cultured, well groomed without
ancf within, always seeking beauty, loving life and af¬
firming it, just, conscientious, and tolerant — yet a
little narrow-minded, cautious and hesitant. He still
wore his beard in the antiquated fashion of Francis
Joseph, for he considered it beneath his dignity to
make any concession on his person to the new condi¬
tions. Though he was a Democrat through and
through, and a loyal servant to the Republic, Angeli’s
beautiful portrait of the Emperor still hung over his
desk. As he entered the room now the old gentle¬
man with his snow-white hair and his gentle grayish-
blue eyes represented the genuine Old Austrian whom
we soon will know only from books.

“Leo is outside, scraping off the snow from his
shoes,” said Herr Spineder as he slowly lighted the
candles. “Go out to him — I’ll prepare the pres¬
ents, and ring when I’m ready.”

52

THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

Frau Spineder paid a brief visit to the kitchen to
look after her carp, cake, and apple-fritters; but
Lotte, throwing her arms about Leo’s neck, was
weeping silently on his breast.

Leo Strakosch— slender, dark-haired, and smooth-
shaven, with sparkling brown eyes that flashed forth
wit and humor — was ten years older than Lotte.
During the last year of the war he had entered the
army for his year’s service, and at the front had met
Rudolf Spineder, the Hof rat’s son; soon the young
men, who were of the same age, were fast friends.
In the last battle of the Piave Rudolf had been
wounded in the head and had breathed out his young
life in the arms of his friend — but only after begging
him to convey a last message to his parents and little
sister. This is how Leo had come into the house of
the Spineders; and the poor son of a petty commis¬
sion-agent felt entirely at home in the cultured
bourgeois atmosphere. When Lotte grew from child¬
hood into beautiful blooming girlhood, he deter¬
mined: “This one, or none!” And Lotte returned
the love of the bright, clever, talented young man
with all her heart.

Herr Spineder had no objections as he watched the
development of this love. Leo Strakosch was an
etcher, quite extraordinarily successful in spite of

A MIDDLE-CLASS VIENNESE HOME 5.3

his youth; people were beginning to fight over his
pictures, and a Leo Strakosch Album, which had ap¬
peared about a year before, was even being noticed
abroad. Both the Hofrat and his wife rightly ad¬
mitted to themselves that they could put their child
in no better hands than Leo’s, whom they gradu¬
ally came to love as their own son. The fact that
Leo was a Jew did not in the least perturb Herr
Spineder. His house was a rendezvous for many
musicians, authors and painters, the majority of
whom were Jews; and the late attorney Viktor
Rosen had even been Spineder’s closest friend.

A year before, when political circles were just
beginning to whisper about the plan of the Christian-
Socialist leader to put through an anti- Jewish law,
Herr Spineder was unwilling and unable to believe
that such a thing could be done. And when events
forced him to believe it his indignation knew no
bounds. Greater still was his sorrow over the blow
that Leo’s imminent expulsion would be for his
daughter. But he rejected unconditionally the
thought of permitting his Lotte to join Leo in his
exile; for here his love for his only child and the
egoism of age united to make him absolutely in¬
flexible.

Christmas presents were plentiful; Lotte’s parents

54

THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

had been generous, yet she scarcely glanced at the
fur scarf, silk stockings, books, and music, but con¬
stantly pressed to her trembling lips the little
picture of Leo, encased in a gold locket, which he
had given her. Now they were all seated about the
holiday table, but the mood was mournful rather
than festive, and Herr Spineder’s efforts to carry on
a light conversation met with failure. When the
home-made golden wine was poured out, Herr
Spineder raised his glass and said, with deep feel¬
ing:

“Your health, Leo! May good fortune be with
you abroad, and may fate bring us all together
again before long! I know that you are angry with
me, children, — but I can’t do anything except suf¬
fer with you. You see, Mother and I have the best
part of our lives behind us — I’m on the threshold
of old age; so it’s only natural for us to resist with
every fibre of our being the departure of the last
sunbeam that shines for us. But even it we were
capable of such almost superhuman selflessness my
sense of duty would not permit it. Were we living in
normal times I would let you go, and would say that
after all we could spend a couple of months with
you in Paris every year. But today, when the krone
is almost worthless, that is impossible. Only specu-.

A MIDDLE-CLASS VIENNESE HOME 55

lators can indulge in such luxury today; and you
know that although we live well and comfortably
we nonetheless must count with every thousand-
kronen bill. If Lotte were to go abroad with you
now she would lose her home forever. And not only
she, but your children, too, would be homeless exiles,
wouldn’t know the soil in which their grandparents
are buried. And— who knows?— perhaps the day
would come when you, Lotte, would be seized with
such homesickness that it would crowd out your
love for your husband, and your entire being would
become embittered with reproach of him whom you
followed into exile. You are young, both of you.
You, Lotte, are almost a child— you, Leo, a youth;
and your whole life lies before you. Let a few years
pass. Then, perhaps, you will have grown apart—
or there will be new developments that will unite
you again.”

While Lotte and her mother wept inconsolably,
Leo, too, raised his glass:

“Father — I suppose I may still call you by that
name— I must respect your reasons for refusing to
let Lotte go with me; I’d probably do the same if
I were in your place. But there is one thing I must
say to you, and to Lotte, whom I will always love:
From now on my life will be one great struggle!

56

THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

My people is said to possess tenacity— well, I will
unite all the faculties of my race in myself. With
my brain and my heart, with all my power and all
my will I shall work to win Lotte, by fair means or
foul! They may drive me out like a mangy dog,
but they cannot kill my will-power! And I drink
to your health and to our reunion, which will come
sooner than any of us dares hope today.”

The next day Leo Strakosch left the country on a
train occupied mostly by intellectual workers and
artists. The Hofrat, Frau Spineder, and Lotte saw
him off. Except for them Leo left no dear ones
behind him, for his parents had died long before.

CHAPTER VIII.

“MY DEAR CHRISTIANS!”

For Vienna the last day of this year was a holiday
unparalleled in the history of that gay and carefree
city. By mobilizing all means of transportation, by
borrowing locomotives from neighboring countries,
and by interrupting all other traffic the authorities
had succeeded on that day in sending out the last
Jews, in thirty enormous trains. In the forenoon
the directors and high officials of the great banks
went away, at noon the Jewish journalists and their
families. They had stayed to the last second, had
composed and edited the evening papers, and had
let the new masters take possession of the editorial
rooms only after the damp sheets had begun to fly
out from the whirling presses. Most of the Vien¬
nese journalists had found positions on papers in
Germany proper, or on German papers in Czecho¬
slovakia; many were emigrating to America; and a
few had decided to turn to other professions. —
However, the publisher of the great Weltpresse, to-

57

58

THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

gether with a small staff of collaborators, was mov¬
ing to London, where he intended to publish a Ger¬
man weekly, to be called lm Exit, which would con¬
cern itself primarily with Austria.

At one o’clock in the afternoon whistles pro¬
claimed that the last trainload of Jews had left
Vienna, and at six o’clock in the evening all the
church bells rang to announce that there were no
more Jews in all Austria.

Then Vienna began to celebrate its great festival
of emancipation. Red and white striped flags flut¬
tered over a hundred thousand roofs, all the shops
were decorated with these colors, Japanese lanterns
burned before every window. On this frosty starlit
night a million people walked over the creaking
snow to form processions. Men, women, and chil¬
dren carried lanterns, the various district parades
were headed by bands, loud rejoicing filled the air,
and again and again there resounded the cry:
“Long Live Christian Vienna!”

All the parades met at the City Hall. Fairy-like
in its splendor, Meister Schmidt’s beautiful Gothic
building shone as one enormous flame, fed by mil¬
lions of electric lamps. On a platform the peerless
Viennese Philharmonic Orchestra, — purged of Jews,
and therefore somewhat diminished in numbers, —

MY DEAR CHRISTIANS 59

played popular airs, while the Male Choir of Vienna
sang its best songs. The People’s Hall, the large
space before the City Hall, and the Ring from the
Schottentor to the Bellaria formed a solid human
wall. And at eight o’clock it was no longer a cry,
but a howl that rose again and again from a million

throats and shook the air.

At last the great moment came. On the balcony
appeared Mayor Karl Maria Laberl with Chancel¬
lor Schwertfeger. With his powerful voice, audible
even at the opposite end of the square, the Chancel¬
lor began to speak — briefly, coolly, but all the moie
effectively:

“Fellow citizens, a gigantic task has been com¬
pleted. Every one who is not Austrian at heart has
left the territory of our small but beautiful country.
Now we are alone, a single family; henceforth we
must depend on ourselves and our own peculiar
qualities— with our own power will we now re¬
organize our clean house, will we brace up decaying
walls and build up falling foundations. Citizens
of Vienna and of our entire country 1 Today we
are celebrating a holiday the like of which has
never been seen before. Tomorrow marks the
beginning of a new year, and of new life for all of
us. Tomorrow we may still lean back and medi-

6o

THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

tate. But then we must work as we never worked
before. We must( dedicate all our ability to our coun¬
try — we must make the most of every hour. We
must show all the world that Austria can live with¬
out the Jews. Nay, more — we must show that we
will recover because we have removed the foreign
element from our organism. In this solemn hour,
fellow citizens, you must promise me faithfully that
we will no longer live only for today and its pleas¬
ures, but that we will work, work, and do nothing
but work until the fruits of our labors have ma¬
tured.”

“We promise!” roared the crowd; strangers shook
each other’s hands, men and women wept and
laughed in one another’s arms, someone sounded
the new national hymn and was joined by the en¬
tire chorus. And then, spontaneously, there rose as
from one throat the cheer: “Hail our Dr. Schwert-
feger, the liberator of Austria!”

When the joyful shouting had subsided a little,
Mayor Karl Maria Laberl finally had an op¬
portunity to say something. He began his speech
with the words:

“My dear Christians! . . .”

But the crowd did not hear much more, for the
warm southwind that had been blowing through

MY DEAR CHRISTIANS

61

the previously ice-cold night was now followed by
a shower. Screaming and shrieking, the mob dis¬
persed, to hurry to the tramway lines through a sea
of slush and melted snow.

PART TWO

CHAPTER 1.

LOTTE SPINEDER TO LEO
STRAKOSCH, 22 RUE FOCH, PARIS

“Just a year has passed, darling, since I stood in
the West Station waving good-bye to you with my
tear-soaked handkerchief. And the first Christmas
that I have had to spend without you as your betro¬
thed is over. It was very sad again, and Papa, quite
worried, said that I would be sick and wretched
if I continued giving way to my grief so much.
I’m always very pale these days, sleep poorly, suf¬
fer much from headaches, and tire so easily. Our
family physician thinks it’s anaemia, and prescribed
Guber water for me, but I know that it’s only my
longing for you that makes me weak and ill.

“I can’t tell you how happy I was over your
wonderful album, which came in just on Christmas
Eve. As anyone can see from these marvellous etch¬
ings, you’re a great artist now; Papa, who under¬
stands these things so well, says that you already
are one of the great masters, and railed against our

65

66

THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

government, which drives such men out of the
country instead of honoring them. Of course your
letter, in which you tell of your great success, made
me very happy, and Papa calculated that the thirty
thousand francs which you got for this album
amount to hundreds of millions of Austrian kronen.
For the krone has again fallen very low. But when
I read that you attend so many social functions, and
can hardly manage your innumerable invitations to
the best houses, my heart missed a beat. Won’t
you forget your poor little Lotte, surrounded as
you are by beautiful Parisian girls? Oh, what will
become of us, Leo? When will I be able to put my
head on your shoulder again? You know, Leo, the
other day a big aeroplane flew westward over the
Kahlenberg, and then I thought that if I only could
I’d fly straight to Paris to you, whether my parents
would consent or no. I’ll tell you — if I knew how
to get a passport without anyone’s finding out about
it, I’d let you send me the money, and would run
away to you. I know that would hurt Papa and
Mama terribly, but my longing for you is so great
that I’ve become very wicked and cruel.

“You ask me to outline for you the state of af¬
fairs since the Jews are gone, as the colorless and
boring Viennese papers don’t give you a real picture

SPINEDER TO STRAKOSCH

67

of conditions here. Well, I’ll try to tell you every¬
thing I see myself or hear from others; but you
mustn’t laugh at me if it sounds silly.

“I suppose you read in the papers all about the
great rejoicing and the many parades on last New
Year’s Eve, after all the Jews had left Vienna and
Austria. Well, this mood continued throughout
January, everybody was cheerful, there was celebra¬
tion after celebration, and again and again the
people paraded before the City Hall or the Chan¬
cellor’s palace, to pay homage to Mayor Laberl or
Dr. Schwertfeger. I noticed myself that the people
in the tramway were much more pleasant and
courteous than before, and Hofrat Tumpel, who
comes to see us — you know, the one with the blond
beard, whom you never liked — said triumphantly:

“ ‘You see, the sunny Viennese temperament,
which was so long overshadowed by all the foreign
elements, is coming to the fore again.’

“ ‘Fiddlesticks,’ growled Papa. ‘That’s only be¬
cause the whole thing is a big picnic for the Viennese,
and because victuals are cheaper and it’s possible
to get apartments again.’ But Tumpel retorted:
‘Oh, no, my friend, that’s not all — the Indo-Ger-
manic naivete of our people is venturing out in the
open again ! ’

68

THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

“Food really had become much cheaper, for at
that time our krone was very high. I remember
Mama coming home very happily one day last
winter, and telling us that it was possible to live
again, as a pound of lard cost only about twenty
thousand kronen. And the apartments brought
much joy to the Viennese. Just imagine, suddenly
almost every house displayed a sign offering apart¬
ments or furnished rooms for rent. People used
to go from house to house looking at apartments
merely to pass the time. And moving vans were
rolling through the streets all day long.

“This lasted till Lent, but then the high spirits
subsided. Suddenly there was much unemployment.
The clothing industry was at a standstill — we’d
hear of a new failure every minute. The papers
said that the honest Christian merchants who had
taken over the old Jewish concerns but were unable
to cope with their task, should be subsidized by the
state. But the unemployed raised a rumpus, parad¬
ed on the Ring, demolished a couple of stores, broke
windows, and finally forced the state to pay them
ten thousand kronen a day for the support of their
families. Then the krone began to fall, for, as
Papa explained, there was a tremendous increase
in the circulation of bank notes. Say what they

SPINEDER TO STRAKOSCH

69

would, the krone soon was lower than ever, and
victuals became as expensive as before, if not more
so. Today Mama told me, with much agitation,
that butter has gone up to a hundred and fifty
kronen. Since spring people have been sulky again,
and there is much grumbling on the tram. Especial¬
ly about the profiteers, who are pushing up all the
prices — only, they don’t talk about Jewish profiteers,
but in general.

“You want to know whether I go to the theatre
often? Oh, no, dear Leo! Except for the opera
there’s nothing whatever going on in the theatre.
All the houses are continually playing Ganghofer
and Anzengruber, for they’re not allowed to produce
anything written by a Jew, and the classics don’t
draw the crowds. For a while they played a good
deal of Shaw; but since he declared in an English
paper that Vienna has become an international ex¬
hibition of asininity, he is taboo. Especially be¬
cause he also said that he prefers one intelligent
Jew to ten stupid Christians. The musical comedy
houses are all high and dry. (Do you remember
how I laughed when I first heard you use that ex¬
pression?) It developed, you see, that all of our
musical comedies, old and new, were either written
or composed by Jews, if not both. Besides, they

70

THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

are short of singers, as practically all the tenors
had to emigrate. Of course a few one hundred per
cent Aryan musical comedies were quickly manu¬
factured, but the audience hissed them, for they
were fearful trash. Hofrat Tumpel declared that
it was because Christian art is suited only for serious
things, not for such frivolous stuff. Whereupon
Papa smiled and said that people would soon realize
how well the Jews and Christians complemented
each other in Austria.

“When I was in the Graben at noon the other day
it struck me that one does not see nearly as many
well-dressed men and women this year as formerly.
People simply don’t indulge in fashions any more.
I must admit, however, that I don’t at all miss the
repulsive faces of the Jewish profiteers, which used
to make you so angry, too. Their place is taken by
a great many young fops who look like peasants
and wear impossible clothes, and who infest the
Drive with their enormous watch-chains and fat
diamond-ringed fingers. Altogether it seems to me
that nowadays all our transient visitors are peasants.
Recently the owner of the Hotel Imperial complained
in one of the papers that the guests he has these
days go to bed without removing their hobnailed
shoes, and wash their woolen underwear in the bath-

SPINEDER TO STRAKOSCH

7i

tubs. If you’d walk through the Kartnerstrasse
you’d be amazed at the lack of elegance in the
stores today! — Now I must close, for it’s one
o’clock in the morning, and I have nothing more
of importance to say besides. Good-bye, my be¬
loved, and invent some way of bringing us together
soon — for otherwise I can’t live any more.
Thousands and thousands of kisses from your dis-

consolate Lotte.”

CHAPTER II.

ROUGH WOOLENS-THE
LATEST STYLE

Silent, morose, with wrinkled brow Herr Habiet-
nik walked through the luxurious salesrooms of the
great department store in the Kartnerstrasse — the
store that had once been called Zwieback, but now
bore the name of Wilhelm Habietnik. Herr Habiet-
nik had been the head salesman in the ladies’ tailor¬
ing department, and during the great expulsion of
the Jews he had succeeded, with the assistance of
the Central German Savings Bank, in acquiring the
business. Now, as we have said, Herr Habietnik
wandered from room to room, exchanging a few
words with every aisle manager; his countenance
became more and more gloomy, and angry snorts
escaped him. He paced without stopping through
the pink and white infants’ wear department; he
threw a furious glance into the beautiful but
entirely deserted pastry shop; and then, rushing
into his private office, he summoned his man¬
ager, Smetana.

72

ROUGH WOOLENS

73

“Look here, Herr Smetana, things can’t go on
this way — something has to be done! Easter’s al¬
most here; this used to be our busiest season, the
store used to be so crowded that it was impossible
to walk through it— and on my rounds today I
found three old women, two of whom were hunt¬
ing together for a chenille scarf that died out long
ago, and the third for a cotton petticoat. If this
is the best we can do we might as well shut up
shop. Tell me, what’s the amount of our deficit
since I’ve taken over the firm?”

The manager smiled wryly:

“Oh, I’d say about a billion — that should be

fairly close to it.”

Herr Habietnik walked about the room in great
agitation. “I don’t understand it! When the Jews
were still here we had a lot of Christian customers^

too! What’s become of them?”

Again Smetana, who had formerly occupied a
desk in the bookkeeping department, where he had
made out the bills, smiled.

“Our Christian trade never was anything to brag
about, Herr Habietnik; and there always was a
catch to those of our customers who really were
Christians. They were either the wives or the
mistresses of Jews. Let me remind you of the beauti-

74

THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

ful Countess Wurmdorf, the one who, at the very
end, ordered a masquerade costume from us for a
million and a half. Very good; but who paid it?
Her husband, perhaps? Nothing of the sort! It
was the wealthy Eisler, of Eisler and Breisler! And
Manoni of the Opera, who’s the daughter of an
honest-to-goodness Christian washwoman, and who
left a hundred million in cold cash with us every
year? Why, the entire Hebrew community had to
contribute there! Then there’s . .

Herr Habietnik stopped him with a wave of his
hand. “Nevertheless there were plenty of ladies
who had no lovers and still bought quite a good deal.
I know more about this for I was the head of the
ladies’ tailoring department.”

“Yes. But you see, Herr Habietnik, even when
they weren’t Jewish it was the competition of the
Jewish women that helped us. When the Jewesses
wore good, stylish clothes the Christian society wo¬
men did not want to lag behind.”

“You may be right there,” the head admitted
thoughtfully. “The other day I myself heard Frau
Artander objecting to our prices, and saying, as she
left without placing an order: ‘Oh, well — thank
God we don’t need to dress up so much any more, or

ROUGH WOOLENS

75

to take up every fashionable craze. I’ll simply have
my old things made over.’ ”

The memory made Herr Habietnik’s blood boil — •
he brought down his fist on the table. “See here,
I didn’t call you in for a friendly chat, but for
advice! That’s what you get your high salary for! ”

Smetana bowed. “I can give you an idea, Herr
von Habietnik. People are going in for coarse
woolens and other durable stuffs nowadays — as you
saw yourself, there’s even a demand for cotton goods.
What do you say to filling up a few show-windows
with woolens, rough wool skirts, cotton and flannel
underwear? And a nice poster to go with it, and
a lot of advertisements announcing: Rough

Woolens, Cotton, Muslin, and Flannel — the Latest
Paris Fashion!”

Seized with a hysterical fit of laughter, Herr
Habietnik roared until the tears ran down his cheeks.
“Flannels and woolens — the rage in Paris! See
here, if Frau Ella Zwieback, who’s living in Brussels
now, ever hears of this, she’ll think we’ve all gone
crazy in Vienna! But all right — I’m sick of this
business, and I get scared stiff when I walk through
the empty house! Go ahead, make your wool dis¬
plays! And don’t forget the Alpine hats and hob¬
nailed shoes ! As for the pastry shop, it’ll gradually

76

THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

be converted into a standing bar with hot frank¬
furters. It’s all the same to me, whether we smash
this way or that!”

Ten days later one show-window actually dis¬
played red, blue, and printed flannel petticoats,
drawers and knitted vests, another showed cotton
stockings and durable shoes, while a third revealed
high piles of rough woolens in brown, gray, and
black. And the salesrooms were filled until every¬
body’s needs had been supplied, and the salesgirls
again yawned or surreptitiously read Engelhorn’s
novels behind their black silk aprons.

CHAPTER III.

THE OLD-TIMER

Dr. Haberfeld, the lawyer, sat in the Cafe
Imperial and crossly pushed aside the newspapers
which Josef, the old head-waiter, had brought him.

“Say, Josef, it’s so empty here, a fellow could
freeze next to the stove! In the old days it was
a hard job to scare up a seat, and now — now you
could stage a Derby race here, there s so much
room!”

Josef stroked his grayish muttonchops, gazed
sorrowfully at the other, wiped off the table with
his napkin, and said with a worried air:

“The Ring cafes are closing one after the other —
I guess we won’t last much longer either. Y’know,
Herr Doktor, what the Hebrew gentlemen— beg
pardon, the Jews— were, they always liked to go
to the high-class places, where there’s something
doing and something to see. But the Christian
gentlemen, they go to a coffee-house in the suburbs,

77

78

THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

and play tarot or billiards there — or else they go to
a cheap bar-room. Yes, sir, times have changed.”

“A deaf, dumb and blind man could see that,”
growled the lawyer. “Look here, Josef, we two
have known each other long enough not to pretend
that things are what they aren’t. To tell you the
truth, I don’t like the whole business. Vienna’s go¬
ing to the dogs without the Jews!”

Josef started, and looked around with frightened
air.

“Don’t worry, nobody’ll hear us! Vienna’s go¬
ing to the dogs, I say; and when I, a veteran anti-
Semite, say that, it’s true, I tell you! And I’ll
tell you something more, Josef. You know, better
than anyone else, that after I eat I always have to
take some bicarbonate of soda, to counteract the
wretched acid in my stomach. But if I had no acid
in my stomach, I wouldn’t be able to eat anything
any more, and I’d kick the bucket. Now, y’see,
that anti-Semitism of ours was only the soda to
counteract the Jews, to keep ’em from becoming a
nuisance! Now we have no acid any more — that is,
no Jews — but only soda; and I’m afraid that’ll be
the end of us.”

Josef, who had listened with breathless and

/

THE OLD TIMER 79

reverential attention, dejectedly flicked a chair with
his napkin as he whispered miserably:

“Right you are, Herr Doktor, though a fellow
don’t dare say so out loud. My finish has started
already. In the last six months I’ve spent half my
savings. Between ourselves, Herr Doktor — and
because you yourself are a liberal gentleman, so
the shoe don’t fit you. The Hebrew gentlemen —
beg pardon, I mean the Jews — were real generous
with their tips!”

Josef cleared away the papers which Had been
boring Dr. Haberfeld, and, on his request, brought
him the Prague and Berlin papers. Then he at¬
tended to some other patrons who had just come in,
and who ordered a pint of wine each.

“Like in a saloon,” Josef whispered as he passed
the attorney. The latter nodded understanding^,
lighted a cigar, and fell to dreaming of the days
when he had sat there every evening with a group
of Jewish colleagues and, political enmity notwith¬
standing, had exchanged with them many clever
and original ideas.

CHAPTER IV.

“SOMETHING HE CANNOT FINISH”

This year the early spring, which always is mark¬
ed by political disturbances, again brought some
agitated days to Vienna. Unemployment spread
to a terrifying extent, factory after factory closed
down, and there were numerous failures among the
retail establishments. Noisy demonstrations were
held everywhere, not only by the laborers, who
were partly provided for by the state, but by idle
salesmen and salesgirls, bookkeepers and typists as
well, until it was decided, at a stormy session of the
cabinet, to subsidize these classes also during the
time of their unemployment. The Minister of
Finance fought against this measure with all his
power, but finally the Chancellor, Dr. Schwert-
feger, had his way. Dr. Schwertfeger, who had
become even harder, stiffer, and more bony, declared
that this additional burden would have to be borne.

“We may not let things come to such a pass that
the expulsion of the Jews should one day be blamed

80

SOMETHING HE CAiNNOT FINISH 81

for misery and distress. So far we have been able
to persuade the Arbeiter-Zeitung, whose spirit is
still Jewish though its editors are Christians, to re¬
frain from all criticism of the anti- Jewish law. But
if we do not meet the demands of the unemployed
business men and women, its patience will be at
an end, and if only to draw these people into its
camp, it will inaugurate a campaign that may prove
ruinous; for we have not yet passed the transitional
stage between the reign of the Jews and our com¬
plete emancipation.”

“And our krone?” sarcastically interjected
Professor Trumm.

“We must turn to our Christian friends abroad
and explain to them the straits in which we find
ourselves. The best thing would be for you to leave
immediately for Paris and London.”

Trumm laughed harshly. “Quite futile! Even
three months ago I returned empty-handed from
my first begging tour. Those people will give no
more — they have not even adhered entirely to their
solemn promises. You underestimate the influence
of our former fellow-citizens, the Austrian Jews,
some of whom hold positions in foreign banks today.
Besides, the delirious enthusiasm of the Christians
has passed, and people are again viewing things

82

THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

from a sober business standpoint. Even Mr. Hux-
table has refused.— But all right, let us grant the
demands of the unemployed clerical workers! How¬
ever, I wash my hands in innocence.”

The next day the cabinet decision was published,
and quiet was restored; but the day after the krone
suffered a thirty per cent fall on the Zurich ex¬
change. And the Neue Zuricher Zeitung printed
an article which proved statistically that slowly but
surely Vienna was forfeiting all significance in
Central European trade, and losing in its competi¬
tion with Prague and Budapest.

“The businessmen of Hungary were as crafty
as those of Prague. They received with open
arms certain classes of decent Viennese Jews,
who brought trade with them. Besides, the
buyers of the world, being mostly Jews, cannot
go to Vienna any more, and therefore go to
Prague, Briinn, Budapest, and, particularly,
Berlin; the Christian buyers follow their ex¬
ample, so that the Austrian manufacturers of
finished products such as fancy leather goods,
shoes, pottery, and the like, must travel abroad
with their sample trunks instead of receiving
their customers at home. In short, no business
worth mentioning is carried on in Vienna, in
spite of the unprecedented low status of the
krone. This has of course put an end to for¬
eign exchange speculation in Vienna — but, it
seems, at the expense of the Austrian organism.

SOMETHING HE CANNOT FINISH 83

Instead of accomplishing a great work with
his law, the gifted Chancellor, Dr. Schwertfeger,
seems to have started something he cannot
finish.”

As if in substantiation of the truth of this article
the banking world of Vienna became completely dis¬
organized. The hopes of the foreign syndicates
that had taken over the great Viennese banks met
with bitter disappointment. Their turnover grew
less and less, and the departure of the Jews had also
caused a considerable decrease in activity on the
stock exchange. To avoid a deficit, therefore, the
banks were forced to give up one after the other of
the thousands of branches with which Vienna was
dotted. The bank clerks’ organization protested
in vain against this deprivation of some of its mem¬
bers of their livelihood. Then the banks claimed the
protection of their embassies, and there was some
painful diplomatic intervention that resulted in the
Austrian government being forced to take into its
service the unemployed bank clerks, when it really
needed to diminish its own staff. And the krone
fell to the thousandth part of a centime.

CHAPTER V.

HENRY DUFRESNE

On a wonderfully warm, summer-like May morn¬
ing an automobile, coming from the West Station,
drove up before the Hotel Bristol, depositing there
an elegant, slender, dark-haired man. With an ex¬
perienced glance the hotel manager appraised first
the heavy leather trunk and hand baggage, and then
the stranger, whose short imperial beard and turned-
up mustache, twirled in a manner then unfashion¬
able in Vienna, lent something exotic to his appear¬
ance. “From the south of France,” was the man¬
ager’s conclusion; by a rapid mental process he
translated French francs into kronen, and deter¬
mined the price of a room in accordance with the
astonishing result. To the question, put in French,
as to whether a room was to be had, he replied, with
an effort to suppress an ironic smile:

“Surely, Monsieur — would you like a single room,
or a suite with bath? Looking out on the Ring, or
to the rear?”

84

HENRY DUFRESNE 85

Amazed, the newcomer dropped the monocle he
had held in his eye.

“Why, how’s this? It used to be impossible to
get accommodations anywhere without previous re¬
servation!”

“My dear sir,”— the manager heaved a profound
and sincere sigh — “it must be a year and a half or
more since you’ve been in Vienna. Much has
changed since then!”

The stranger understood immediately, nodded
sympathetically, asked for a room with a view of
the Ringstrasse, and registered:

“Henry Dufresne, artist, from Paris, 29 years of

age, Catholic, unmarried/’

M. Dufresne bathed, changed his clothes, merrily
whistling the latest Parisian song-hit all the while,
ordered an excellent breakfast to be served in his
room, and, about ten o’clock in the morning, left the
hotel, in a noticeably jovial mood.

The Frenchman with the little beard seemed to
be quite familiar with Vienna, for he swung himself
on a tramway car without asking his way; and he
appeared to have an excellent command of the Ger¬
man language, for it was evident that he listened
with interest to the conversation of those about him.
When an old woman began to wail about the high

86

THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

prices, and to revile the authorities in no uncertain
terms, M. Dufresne patted her shoulder and, in
faultless German and with a Viennese accent, tried
to pacify her:

“How can you say such things, granny? We must
all feel glad and happy, now that we’re rid of the
Jews.”

But granny now flared up in proper fashion.

“The Jews never done me no harm! They could
’a’ stayed in Vienna s’ far’s I was concerned. I had
such a, good place with a Jewish gen’l’m’n, an’ when¬
ever he brought home a girl an’ made a mess he give
me a extra bill. Live an’ let live, he always said — an’
he was right!”

There was laughter on the platform, and a jolly
chap with a nose that shone wine-red corroborated
this testimony:

aYeh, I guess a man c’n say th’t some o’ the Jews
was real decent folks.”

A peculiar smile played about the Frenchman’s
mouth as he left the car and strolled slowly along
the Wahringerstrasse, later turning into the Nuss-
dorferstrasse. Occasionally he stopped before a
show-window, shaking his head as he observed the
prices marked on the goods displayed. Finally he
reached the Billrothstrasse, which eventually leads

HENRY DUFRESNE 87

into the vineyard-studded suburbs Sievering and
Grinzing.

His attention was caught by a sign on the door
of a modern apartment house in the Billrothstrasse.

“For rent: Small, elegantly furnished apartment
with studio; immediate possession. Apply to
janitor.”

Quickly making up his mind, M. Dufresne
entered the house and sought out the janitor, who,
taking him up to the fifth floor by means of an
elevator, showed him the apartment. It consisted
of a bed-room, a parlor furnished as a den, and
adjoining this, a large studio-like room with a sky¬
light. A bathroom was also included.

“How does this apartment happen to be vacant?”

“For heaven’s sake,” cried the janitor, “why,
there are about twenty thousand vacant apartments
in Vienna today. An architect, a Herr Rosen¬
baum, used to live here — but he had to leave with
all the rest of the Jews. The landlord bought his
furniture, but hasn’t been able to find a tenant be¬
cause there’s no kitchen.”

Five minutes later a deposit in the shape of a five
hundred thousand kronen bill was in the janitor’s
hand, and M. Dufresne had rented the apartment.
Walking more rapidly, he proceeded on toward

88

THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

Grinzing, gaily swinging his cane and saying to him¬
self: “A good beginning — I couldn’t have had
better luck with the apartment.” But the closer
he came to Grinzing the more excited he became,
his cheek flushed, and his merry brown eyes grew
feverishly bright. When he had reached the Kobenzl-
gasse his steps became slower and almost dragged —
he seemed to be approaching a fateful moment.
Drawing a deep breath, he stopped before the
house of Hofrat Spineder, and pulled his broad-
brimmed gray hat down over his eyes so that only
his moustache and beard remained visible. Ap¬
parently undecided, he walked back and forth, at
times looking nervously at his wrist-watch, whose
hands pointed to half past eleven. Just as he stood
before the green gate again it opened to let out a
maid. At this instant, while the gate was open, M.
Dufresne saw a girl come out from the door of the
house, to the left of the court — a young girl, dressed
in white, her golden head uncovered, a book in her
hand; she walked toward the back, through the court
and up into the garden.

“Hurrah 1” the man with the little beard said
to himself — and his plan of action was complete.
To the right of the Spineder grounds, separated
from them by a wooden fence, lay a long empty lot

henry dufresne

89

that had temporarily, since the war, been trans¬
formed into a large kitchen garden. It extended
upward as far as the summer-house on the highest
point of the Spineder garden. The other edge of
the lot was separated by another wooden fence from
a side street that opened on the Kobenzlgasse; but
this fence was in a dilapidated state, and had broken
down entirely in several places. The Frenchman
crawled through one of the holes and dashed up
through the kitchen-garden, catching up with and
soon passing the blonde girl walking on his right.
Now M. Dufresne had reached the top; he swung
himself over the fence into the garden of Hofrat
Spineder, and hid himself behind a massive lmden-
tree that stood in the middle of the vineyard. A
few minutes later the girl reached the tree; but she
was not able to see the man hidden behind it. Not
until, suddenly, something unexpected happened.
M. Dufresne called, mezzovoce : “Lotte!” And
when Lotte Spineder, startled and confused, stopped
to look around, he called again: “It’s I, Lotte!
For heaven’s sake, don’t be frightened!”

The next moment the gentleman with the little
beard had caught Lotte, who had become white as a
sheet and had begun to sway, in his arms. Again
and again he pressed his mouth to her cold lips,

go

THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

until the color returned to her cheeks and, trembling
all over, she clung to him tightly, as if someone
were trying to tear him away from her.

And now they sat in the summer-house, Leo
Strakosch held Lotte on his knee, and told his story
hurriedly:

“Yes, Lotte darling, it’s I, and it’s for your sake
that I grew this horrible beard and mustache. I
longed for you so much, I simply couldn’t stay
away any more; and when your father wrote me that
he was really worried about your health and that he
thought it wisest for us to stop writing to each
other, as every letter opened the wounds in your
heart — then my mind was made up. I confided in
a dear and good friend, Henry Dufresne, who would
go through fire for me; I grew a little imperial beard
like the one he wears, and got all his papers from
him: the certificates of his baptism, residence, and
military service, and his passport, duly viseed by the
Austrian embassy in Paris. The beard made us look
very much alike, so that he could take a chance on
securing his passport with my photograph. And
I did not forge his signature, but he imitated mine.
Of course this splendid fellow told all his friends
and acquaintances that he was going to Vienna,
while he actually went to his uncle’s estate, in the

HENRY DUFRESNE 91

south of France, where he will stay a year. And
I can live in Vienna as Henry Dufresne just as long
as he remains there.”

Lotte wept and laughed in the same breath.,

“I’m so unspeakably happy, Leo! But Im so
afraid for you! You know there’s a death penalty
for returning here — suppose they catch you?

“Impossible, darling! The few friends I had are
all Jews, and had to leave the country when I did.
Besides, the beard serves as an absolute disguise,
especially when I wear a monocle. And even i
someone were to come and declare that Im eo
Strakosch, I’d simply deny it, and no one could
convict me, for my passport is genuine, and if any¬
one should inquire of the Paris police he’d be told
that Henry Dufresne has gone to Vienna with a

regular traveller’s passport.”

“But what about Papa and Mama?” asked Lotte,
after a number of whole-hearted kisses, which she
found delightful, mustache and beard notwithstand-

“Of course they must not hear a single word
about this, Lotte,” was Leo’s grave reply. “Not that
they’d report me. But your father is too much
of an official and a Hofrat not to be angry with me
for this masquerade; and, besides, he would never

92

THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

permit us to meet, but would adjure me to go away
again. This way, however, we’ll see each other
every day, won’t we, Lotte?”

And Leo told her of the cozy little apartment he
had just rented, and described how they could spend
a few hours together there every day — as much
time as Lotte would be able to have to herself. At
this Lotte blushed to the roots of her hair; but when
she looked into the frank and sincere eyes of her
lover she knew that she would be safe with him
even if they were all alone.

Leo had to go now, for someone might look for
Lotte in the garden any minute. But before they
bade each other farewell the girl’s white forehead
clouded again.

“But now you’ve given up your splendid career
in Paris, Leo! And what will you do to support
yourself here in Vienna, with this terribly high cost
of living that even Papa is beginning to complain
about?”

Leo laughed so merrily and boisterously that
Lotte, frightened, put her hand over his mouth.
Which he construed as an invitation to kiss the rosy
little fingers. He did this to his heart’s content be¬
fore he answered:

“What’ll I do here, darling? Work, and work
Hard; and I’ll save an enormous amount of money,

HENRY DUFRESNE

93

for when they are reduced to francs these high
Viennese prices are ridiculously low. You see, I’ve
been commissioned by the biggest publishing house
of Paris to illustrate a new edition of the collected
works of Zola. And the terms are marvellous, I’ll
tell you. Sixty thousand francs, half of which I
got when I signed the contract. I’ll get the other half
when I deliver the two hundred drawings— and that
must be in a year. So you see again that we Jews
are a wily race, and know on which side our bread

is buttered.”

Leo climbed back over the fence; and that very
day M. Dufresne moved over to the Billrothstrasse.
Hofrat Spineder and his wife, however, noted with
great satisfaction that for the first time m more
than a year their little girl was in good spirits, and

hummed a gay song to herself.

‘‘You’ll see,” the Hofrat said to his wife, ‘ by and
by Lotte will forget all about this deplorable busi¬
ness. I feel sorry for the poor fellow, but it’s better
this way. Besides he wrote me quite a sensible
letter in which he promised to give up corresponding

with Lotte.”

Frau Spineder shook her head in amazement, an
thought: “How different girls are nowadays! If
I had been in Lotte’s place I’d never have over-
come my love!”

CHAPTER VI.

THE END OF THE TENANTS*
PROTECTIVE LAW

The Weltpresse, once the liberal bourgeois paper,
but now the principal organ of the Christian-Social
Party, received a communication from the owner of
the house located at No. 19 Billrothstrasse,— a
communication containing a keen and logical argu¬
ment against the continuance of the Tenants’
Protective Law. “This law,” said the letter, “had
reason and justification when there was a housing
shortage and the populace had to be protected
against being rendered homeless through the avarice
of individual landlords. But today there is no more
housing shortage; thanks to the beneficial anti-
Jewish law of our revered Chancellor, normal condi¬
tions have been restored, and the necessary surplus
of apartments exists. Therefore this Tenants’
Protective Law has become superfluous and, at the
present time, constitutes only a brutal attack on
the rights of the landlord; furthermore, it conflicts

94

END OF TENANTS’ PROTECTIVE LAW 95

with our Constitution. The repeal of the law would
of course be followed by a rise in rents; but this
would be entirely justified, and, in the long run,
would prove salutary to the community, for the
higher rents would raise the amount of taxes to be
paid, as well as the value of the houses. It is
characteristic that it was a cultured French artist,
living in my house, who expressed to me his amaze¬
ment at this Tenants’ Protective Law. He declared
that the capitalist circles of France find the law
ridiculous, and that, among other things, it dis¬
courages foreigners from investing their money in
Viennese real estate. Therefore let us do away with
the Tenants’ Protective Law! The noble Christian
spirit of the Viennese landlords, together with the
automatic action of the law of supply and demand,
will prevent an excessive rise in rents.”

This letter appeared in a prominent position in
the Weltpresse, accompanied by an editorial note
that very cautiously approved the views of the
esteemed correspondent, yet, at the same time, dif¬
fered with him slightly. For neither the landlords
nor the tenants were to be offended.

This marked the beginning of an animated public
discussion; letters poured into the editorial offices,
and the landlords clamored more and more for the

96

THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

repeal of the Tenants’ Protective Law, for the
privilege of giving notice and of raising rents at
their own discretion. Herr Windholz, the owner
of the Billrothstrasse house, suddenly became an
important personage; he was elected to the presi¬
dency of the landlords’ association, and he came
every day to his cultured French tenant, M. Duf-
resne, for advice. Gaily Herr Strakosch, alias Duf-
resne, egged him on, declaring emphatically one
day:

“If the landlords endure this slavery any longer,
I’ll consider them spineless fools one and all, and
I’ll leave the city where such conditions can con¬
tinue to prevail.”

“But what can we do?” Herr Windholz asked in
despair. “What can we do when the government
absolutely refuses to comply with our demands?”

“What can you do? I’ll tell you: Get your as¬
sociation together today, and resolve to deliver a
three days’ ultimatum to the government. If by
the end of that period it has not restored the
privilege of managing your houses in your own way,
you, the landlords, will strike. You will pay no
taxes, you will suspend the lighting and cleaning
of your houses, you will refuse to pay interest on

END OF TENANTS’ PROTECTIVE LAW 97

your mortgages— in short, you will commit sabotage
against the state.”

Herr Windholz waxed enthusiastic, embraced the
Frenchman, and assured him that whatever may
happen his rent would not be raised.

Subsequent events followed M. Dufresne’s plan.
The Viennese landlords’ association accepted the
ultimatum unanimously, and the government was
defeated. In vain did Dr. Schwertfeger asseverate
that the repeal of the Tenants’ Protective Law would
have most disastrous results; his fellow ministers
outvoted him. Primarily, as the Arbeiter-Zeitung
maliciously pointed out, because the Ministers of
Finance, Education, and Commerce each owned

several houses.

Thus fell the Tenants’ Protective Law, which had
forbidden the landlords to dispossess their tenants
or to raise rents at will; and twenty-four hours later
there took place a stormy open meeting of the land¬
lords, where it was decided to increase the current
rents a thousandfold, so that they would be some¬
what more in keeping with the cost of living. . A
solemn pledge bound all to adhere to this decision^
The populace, only a small minority of which
consisted of landlords, went mad. The working
classes now had to pay millions in yearly rentals

98

THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

for their rooms, and a small middle-class apart¬
ment could not be had for less than fifty million.
The housewives’ organization, the unions, the asso¬
ciation of steadily employed workers, the war in¬
valids and war widows, the artisans’ societies — all
of them called mass meetings and staged demonstra¬
tions; for fully eight days no work of any sort was
done in Vienna or the provincial towns, while de¬
monstrations were held from morning to night. The
number of broken window-panes grew at a terrify¬
ing rate, and for the first time in a considerable
number of years the streets resounded with the cry:

“Down with the government!”

Both the Christian and the German-Nationalist
papers lost many readers; but the Arbeiter-Zeitung
again basked in the sunshine of fortune’s smiles.

CHAPTER VII.

ZWICKERL GOES INTO
BANKRUPTCY

Herr Zwickerl was in a bad humor, venting his
wrath by furious pokes at the cherry Strudel on the
plate before him. Frau Zwickerl anticipated the ap¬
proaching storm:

“What’s eating you now, Anton? Isn’t business
going?”

This was too much for Herr Zwickerl. He pushed
away the cherry Strudel ; and his face grew redder
than the cherries as he roared:

“You bet business is going! To the devil, that s
where! I might as well tell you— I’ve got to go in¬
to bankruptcy!”

“Jesus Christ!” shrieked Frau Zwickerl. “How
can that be? The store’s always been crowded, and
everybody thinks you got a gold-mine from that
Jew Lessner!”

“Yah,” sneered Zwickerl, “a gold-mine full o’
mud! The more people buy, the more I lose. And you
know what? It’s all on account o’ that damnable

99

IOO

THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

exchange! It’s kronen, measly kronen, what I take
in, while Czech crowns and francs fly out the win¬
dow. I buy ten thousand yards of batiste in
Reichenberg; a week later the salesman of that divi¬
sion comes to me, his silly face shining with joy, and
says, ‘Herr Zwickerl, these goods fairly fly out of
the store! Tomorrow there won’t be a single yard
left in the house!’

“That’s fine, I think, and go to the bookkeeper;
and when we go over the accounts I see I’ve lost on
every yard, because the Czech crown has gone up
again. And this is only one case out of a hundred. I
always add three hundred per cent to every price,
but the krone still falls quicker than I can raise the
prices. I’m losing all the time; the Landerbank,
which backed me when I took over the store, is de¬
manding its money, and I can’t pay, because I have
a terrific deficit. What’s more, I need another bil¬
lion, because I can’t buy any more without it!”

Having let off steam, Herr Zwickerl now felt
calmer. Drawing the cherry Strudel toward him, he
continued with a shrewd wink:

“Y’know, old girl, what we really need is just a
couple o’ Jewish banks — that’s all! Before, when
I had my little store in the Strumpergrasse, then
whenever I had to buy abroad I used to go to that

ZWICKERL GOES INTO BANKRUPTCY ioi

hunchbacked Kohn of the Hermesbank, where I
had my account, and he says to me, ‘Herr Zwickerl,’
he says, ‘now you’ve got to store up marks, because
the mark’s going to go up;’ or he says, ‘The krone
is going to be steadier now, so you buy kronen.’
And it always happened the way he said, and I made
money not only on my goods, but on the exchange,
too. But now — the monkeys what’s in that bank
now don’t know nothin’, and I don’t know nothin’
about it either, and everything’s going to pieces, you
mark my words!”

Herr Zwickerl was one of the many petty busi¬
ness men whom the anti- Jewish law had raised to
great heights. With the aid of the now thoroughly
Christian Landerbank he, the little small-scale mer¬
chant, had succeeded in acquiring the great dry
goods store in the Mariahilferstrasse; and his first
six months there had been a time of unalloyed hap¬
piness. When Herr Zwickerl stood on the balcony
of the store and looked down at the throng below,
he felt like a petty monarch, becoming quite drunk
with the ringing of the cash registers, the rustling
of silk, and the confused hum of voices. Every
evening, at supper, he drank to the health of
Schwertfeger, and repeated over and over again to

102

THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

his wife, (who now wore her kid gloves even into
the kitchen) :

“Now you see, old girl — now we can see how the
Jews fleeced us! They had all the big stores, and
we Christians had to worry along and work our
heads off in dingy little shops. Thank God, that’s
over now!”

But even the first semi-annual accounting was a
terrible disappointment for Herr Zwickerl. In spite
of the enormous turn-over and the crowded store
there was not the shadow of a profit — somehow or
other some mistake had always been made in the
speculation involved in purchases abroad. And
more than once Herr Zwickerl sighed to himself:
“If only I had a good Jew what could tell me what
to do!”

Herr Zwickerl actually had to declare himself
bankrupt, the store was closed, and was taken over
by a realtor of the Gumpoldskirchen district, who
made the great house over into a huge bar.

In the years that followed the war and revolution
Vienna had developed more and more into the hub
of Central European extravagance, and the life of
certain classes had grown so luxurious that it be¬
came the talk of all the world. The masses of Vien¬
na, however — not only the laborers, but also the

ZWICKERL GOES INTO BANKRUPTCY 103

middle classes — had gnashed their teeth as they
watched the foreign elements, especially the Gali¬
cian, Roumanian, and Hungarian Jews, lord it over
Vienna. Spending lavishly the practically worthless
money of Austria, they drank champagne when the
poor man could hardly pay for his glass of beer;
they adorned their women with pearls and furs
while the real aristocracy was forced to sell its
family jewels one by one; they raced through the
streets in their luxurious automobiles, they took
away the homes of Viennese residents of long stand¬
ing, and filled the cultured old city with their noisy
ostentation.

When the Jews had been exiled all this was
changed entirely overnight. The dumfounding extra¬
vagance disappeared, the Viennese rummage sales
came to a stop, it no longer required superhuman
effort to secure a seat for the opera, and life became
calmer, simpler, more substantial. Until it develop¬
ed that a city like Vienna cannot exist without
luxury. At the beginning, the Christian business men
who took over the Jewish shops had also taken pos¬
session of the Jewish automobiles; the general pros¬
perity seemed to be unchanged, but merely to have
been redistributed. The joy which the citizens of
Vienna felt when they no longer had to bump into

104

THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

Jewish profiteers at every step, was as genuine as it
was easily comprehensible. But when the krone soon
began to drop again toward the infinitesimal, and
prices rose like a tidal wave — when every business
that depended on unlimited luxury, (like the ex¬
clusive stores, the cabarets, theatres, and princely
restaurants and bars,) failed — when unemployment
became general and the export trade with foreign
countries grew less and less — then high living also
had its wings clipped. The tens of thousands of
automobiles that had gone over from Jewish into
Christian hands were sold to foreign buyers for a
handful of lire or francs, for business went so badly
that it was impossible to buy gasoline; art dealers
complained of a complete standstill in their business,
the deficit of the state-subventioned theatres grew
by leaps and bounds, and eminent Christian artists
and scholars, especially the great physicians, emi¬
grated to other countries because their own people
no longer were willing or able to pay them the fees
to which they had become accustomed in the Jewish
era.

And it was impossible to stop the constant growth
of discontent, irritation, and the realization that
the country was on the downward path.

CHAPTER VIII.

THE SWEET, GAY YOUNG THINGS

Discontent was rampant among the gay young
things of Vienna. Instinctively they felt in their
subconscious minds that the lofty and exalted policy
of the government was, to an appreciable extent,
carried out at their expense. During the last half
century it had become a tradition that the pretty
young girl of the Viennese middle class should have
a Jewish sweetheart. Let the father be an en¬
thusiastic Christian-Socialist, let the _ brother be
just as enthusiastic a German nationalist Poldi or
Fini, Mitzi or Grete “went” with a Jew, who might
be a salesman or a bank clerk, a business man or a
student. Those of their friends who had no Jews
would often taunt and jeer at them— but always
were they envied. For to have a Jew as one’s lover
meant to be taken to the theatre and to nice cafes,
to be well treated and to receive generous gifts.

As for marriage with a Jew-that was considered
the grand prize, a guarantee of comfort, fur coats,
and pretty clothes.

105

106 THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

If one asked Poldi or Tini why she preferred
a Jewish sweetheart, the answer was always the
same.

“A Jew’s always liberal, and when he marries a
Christian girl he’s her slave. Besides, they don’t
get drunk. I used to go with a Christian before,
and on Sundays I was always scared to death that
he’d get drunk and start a row. Now that I’ve got
a Jewish friend we always go to nice places, he
drinks hardly anything, he’s smart, always has a
lot of things to talk about, and never gets rough.”

But when the sweet young things were gathered
together privately, in an intimate group, and began
to tell one another their erotic experiences and ex¬
ploits, then they spoke of the sensuousness of the
Jews and of the manifoldness of their erotic inclina¬
tions as contrasted with their Aryan friends — good
Christians and splendid fellows, but far less enter¬
taining. . .

It is possible, and even probable, that one cause
for the profound and fanatic anti-Semitism among
the male inhabitants of Vienna during the last few
decades was the fact that the youth with the Haken-
kreuz could not stomach the sight of his Jewish
rivals snatching away all the pretty girls.

Now all this had been changed; no longer was it

THE SWEET, GAY YOUNG THINGS 107

necessary to compete with the Jews, and the Vien¬
nese girl was wholly dependent on her fellow-
Aryans. But comparison and reminiscence could
be neither prevented nor prohibited.

The girls behind the counters and in the offices,
in the sewing-rooms and factories, understood little
of politics, but much of practical life. And they
began to miss the Jewish young men very much. At
first they had been carried away by the general en¬
thusiasm; but when the morning after dawned they
found their lives emptier and more poverty-stricken
than before. They began to long for their exiled
sweethearts, the good qualities of the Jews as lovers
were exaggerated in the memory; these good quali¬
ties were constantly thrown in the teeth of their
Christian successors, and the two were compaied
continually, much to the disadvantage of those in

power.

One day the Arbeiter-Zeitung described a charac¬
teristic scene, which a reporter had observed in the

inn of an excursion resort.

A beautiful young creature had, for some reason
or other, quarreled with her companion, who ex¬
claimed in the course of the argument:

“Wish you’d gone away with your Jew!

108 THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

Whereupon the girl wiped the tears from her eyes
and answered loudly:

“Wish I had! I ain’t the only girl what had a
Jewish friend, and we’re all sorry we ain’t got them
any more! What do we get from you? You drink
and gamble away your money, and we’ve got to
buy our rags with what we make ourselves. And
none of you is so nice to us as my Fritz was, or
Trudl’s Rudi, or his friend Karl, what went with
Liesl. They never let us pick up or carry any¬
thing, they always bought us the prettiest and best
things, and when we went out with them they didn’t
take us to such cheap lunchrooms, but to Hopfner,
or the Opernrestaurant, and later to a swell cafe
where there was music and people in fine clothes.
And where love’s concerned — well, you can’t talk
about such things, but them Jews knew how to treat
a girl, and when they loved they never was so sel¬
fish like you fellows, what ain’t got no idea of what
a woman needs!”

These resolute words called forth a storm of in¬
dignation among the young men; the girls, however,
silently exchanged glances, and nodded.

CHAPTER IX.

THE END OF THE
HAKENKREUZLER

At a political meeting held shortly after the ex¬
pulsion of the Jews Dr. Schwertfeger said that now,
when the foes of the Aryan spirit no longer resided
in Austria, there would be an automatic approxima¬
tion of the various party groups, and a modification
of political antagonism.

He seemed to have been right. Almost annihilated
by the results of the last election, dumfounded and
staggered by recent events, robbed by the expulsion
of their greatest minds, best journalists, and most
spirited leaders, the Socialists remained silent and
decided not to come out of their forced retirement
for the time being. And the variance between the
principles of the German Nationalists and the
Christian-Socialists actually began to disappear.

After the expulsion all Vienna was transformed
into an armed camp of Hakenkreuzler. Practically
every man, woman, adolescent and child wore the

109

no

THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

emblem that was displayed on all the posters, flags
and standards. But when things came to such a
pass that every “drunk” and pickpocket was wear¬
ing it, when the police mentioned regularly that “the
prisoner wore a Hakenkreuz,” then the more intel¬
ligent people began to discard it, soon to be imitated
by the middle class and the masses.

It was not long before it became evident that all
the parties, the Christian-Socialist as well as the
Social-Nationalist, had as their common basis the
portrayal of the Jew as an evil spirit, a bogeyman,
and a scapegoat. Now that there were no Jews or
people of Jewish descent in Austria this no longer
attracted the public, and party politics became even
more stupid and boring than before.

Misery, unemployment, and the cost of living in¬
creased, and demagogues were at a loss to find some¬
one to blame. For now the rich were good Christ¬
ians, as were also the exploiters and usurers,
(though the latter were not to be mentioned, for that
would have been an admission that Christians, as
well as Jews, could be profiteers and usurers).

Formerly the Hakenkreuzler had attracted notice
and aroused the masses with their posters. Bosel
and other Jewish plutocrats had been called the
rulers of Austria, had been reviled as vampires and

THE END OF THE HAKENKREUZLER hi

oppressors. But now Bosel was living in London,
and the Hakenkreuzler posters had become so color¬
less that no one bothered to read them any more.

One after the other the papers that displayed the
Hakenkreuz suspended publication; Hakenkreuz¬
ler meetings no longer drew an audience, no more
money poured into the party treasury, and the
leaders found themselves in a pinch when they could
no longer fleece rich Jews, and when there were no
more Jewish banks to give them money. For the
Christianized banks did not need to contribute
and could not have done so had they wished, for
their situation became worse every day.

The leaders of the Hakenkreuzler made a last ef¬
fort to save themselves and their slowly dying party.
On enormous posters and a million leaflets they in¬
formed the populace that it was again the Jews
who were to blame for all the misery of Vienna. It
was international Jewry, said they, that was shoot¬
ing poisoned darts into Austria from foreign coun¬
tries, that was hatching vengeance, that was forcing
down the krone and, through the powerful organiza¬
tion of Freemasonry, was draining Austria and
isolating her from international life.

For three or four days these ‘‘revelations” served
as topics of conversation — for three or four days

1 12

THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

the starving, desperate, jobless people stopped be¬
fore the posters and shook their fists. Then they
began to shrug their shoulders and to call the whole
business nonsense. For the simple reason that even
the most stupid of them could see that Austria was
absolutely powerless against such a “plot” of inter¬
national Jewry. In the old days they could have
marched from a Hakenkreuzler meeting to Leopold-
stadt, drunk with enthusiasm, and secretly hoping
to plunder and burglarize a little on the way, to
thrash a few Jews and break some windows. But
now, when there were no more Jews in Leopold-
stadt, such a demonstration would have been entirely
senseless, and the formerly so tolerant and kindly
police now would surely have cut down the looting
demonstrants without much ado.

Thus it happened that one day the principal organ
of the Hakenkreuzler made the melancholy and yet
defiant announcement that it would suspend publica¬
tion; incidentally, it revealed the heart-rending fact
that at the last great assembly of the Hakenkreuzler
there had gathered only twenty persons in addition
to the officers and the waiters.

Dr. Schwertfeger had been right: Political op¬
position was becoming less vivid, was disappearing

THE END OF THE HAKENKREUZLER 113

almost completely. But for an entirely different
reason than he had believed. It was because of a
total lack of motive power, and because the Jews
had taken with them all the dash and spirit of poli¬
tics.

CHAPTER X.

CHEAP SUMMER-RESORTS

On a glorious June day Leo Strakosch, alias
Dufresne, went to the City Park, to gather further
impressions of the new Vienna. As a rule he seldom
left the Nineteenth District, where he was always
either working in his studio or taking long walks in
the Wienerwald with Lotte. Now, strolling about
among the crowded tables of the inn, he felt so
amused that he laughed aloud.

“For heaven’s sake — what has become of my
beautiful, elegant Vienna!”

There seemed to be a general craze for Alpine
costume and tourist dress; as far as he could see
there were men, old and young, in rough wool coats,
knickerbockers, and green Alpine hats. And the
women! Most of them wore peasant costume,
which, while it might have been very charming and
graceful in the open country, here looked like a
caricature or a bad joke. People had become very
unassuming; besides, now they were all one big

114

CHEAP SUMMER-RESORTS 115

family, and there were no strangers around for
whom it might be necessary to “dress up.”

Occasionally one did see elegantly dressed men
and women; but they were so few as to be conspic¬
uous, and sneering remarks about them issued
from the Alpine tables. Strakosch felt highly un¬
comfortable whenever he noticed a “peasant girl”
staring at him through her lorgnette — probably only
because his dark blue suit, patent leather shoes,
and costly silk tie attracted attention.

An electric tramway line, municipal music, and
peasant girls who wore lorgnettes — Leo pinched
himself. He hurried out of the Park into the Ring-
strasse, where the cafes presented a sorry sight; he
grinned as he noted that people were greeting one
another with “Hail!”; and he had to search for
quite some time before he found a taxicab. For
even these public vehicles had become a luxury in¬
dulged in by so few that most of the drivers had
given up their business.

Late in the afternoon, around sunset, he met
Lotte at the edge of the Kobenzlwald, as they had
arranged. They settled down on a bench, and, after
a prologue of kisses, Lotte told him that her parents
had decided to move to their little villa on the Wolf-
gangsee the next week.

n6 THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

“What’ll become of us now?” she wailed. “How
can I bear not to see you all summer?”

“Nothing of the sort is expected of you, darling.
I’ll take a vacation, too; when you’re in St. Gilgen
I’ll be in Wolfgang, and you’ll come over every day
so that we’ll be together at least an hour.”

“M-m-m,” Lotte replied happily, “that’s some¬
thing like! But now I’ll have to tell you about the
argument Papa and I had yesterday. Just think,
suddenly Papa looked me straight in the eye and
said very seriously: ‘What have you been doing
all by yourself lately, for hours at a time? You
know we give you as much freedom as possible —
but there’s a limit!’

“I felt myself getting red as a beet and thought
the best thing would be for me to confess.”

“What!” interrupted Leo, horrified. “You told
your father?”

“Let me finish, silly,” laughed Lotte, pinching his
ear. “I confessed, but only what I wanted. I told
Papa that I had met a very splendid young man at
Erna’s house, that I like him as well as he likes me,
and that I often meet him for walks. He’s a
Frenchman, I said, by the name of Henry Dufresne,
and he’s putting through some big business deals
here.

CHEAP SUMMER-RESORTS

117

“At first Papa was absolutely speechless, then he
asked why I don’t invite this Frenchman to the
house. Whereupon I answered that I’m not entirely
sure of my feelings, and therefore don’t want to
make the matter seem official. And finally I cried,
quite indignantly:

“ ‘You know you can trust me, Papa ! You can
be sure I won’t do anything wrong, and Henry will
come to you as soon as I think it necessary and
proper. But now let me go my own way!’

“After this Papa was very kind and nice to me,
and so was Mama. But later I heard Papa telling
Mama: ‘I’d never have believed that Lotte would
forget poor Leo so quickly and thoroughly. Still,
I’m very glad she’s found a new object for her affec¬
tions, and we won’t put any obstacle in her way.’

“And Mama, who is so fond of you, shook her
head and said: ‘I don’t understand that girl at all!
Her cheeks have actually become pink again, and
she sings all day as if she had never had a heart¬
ache.’

“You know, Leo, it surely isn’t nice of us to fool
my parents this way— but I’m so happy that you’re
here in Vienna!”

Leo pulled Lotte toward him, gave her a long
kiss, and then said with an important air:

n8 THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

“Now we’ll go to the country, and when I come
back I’ll fool the whole town and I’ll do it properly,
too! I can’t tell you any more today — but you’ll
see some marvelous doings.”

This was the second summer to console the Vien¬
nese for the great inconvenience and bitter disap¬
pointments they had suffered. In former years the
most beautiful towns and resorts of diminished
Austria had become the playground of the Jews.
All of the beautiful Salzkammer region, the Sem-
mering district, and even the more modernized
sections of the Tyrol, had been flooded with
Austrian, Czechoslovakian, and Hungarian Jews;
the appearance of anyone who might be suspected
of being a Gentile would actually create a sensa¬
tion in Ischl, Gmunden, Wolfgang, Gilgen, Strobel,
Aussee, or on the Attersee. Not without justifica¬
tion the Christians — partly because of lesser wealth,
and partly because of greater conservatism in the
matter of money-spending — felt that they were be¬
ing pushed aside, and had to content themselves with
the less expensive, but also much less beautiful re¬
sorts of Lower Austria and Steiermark, or with out-
of-the-way Tyrolese villages. Since the expulsion
of the Jews all this had changed. The most beauti¬
ful summer-resorts were crowded no longer, inquiries

CHEAP SUMMER-RESORTS 119

from city dwellers received immediate and very
courteous replies, and in spite of the otherwise in¬
creased cost of living the rents of rooms or summer
homes were considerably lower than two years be¬
fore. And therefore all who had the time and the
money flocked to the places that had formerly dis¬
gusted the genuine Viennese.

The owners of the great hotels, health resorts, and
so-called sanatoria, however, were not so well pleased.
They had always lived off international Jewry
— their entire business depended on people who do
not calculate cost when their comfort is at stake;
and now, as it was impossible for them to be cheap,
they could not find enough patrons. The great
Semmering hotels did not open at all, and many
hostelries of the Salzkammer region and the Tyrol
were forced to close and dismiss their employes in
the middle of the season. This was gall in their cup
of joy, and caused ill will among the country people,
who were accustomed to sell their products to the
great hotels at enormous prices, and to let their sons
and daughters make goodly sums of money as valets
and chambermaids during the summer.

The mayor of Semmering had the courage to say
openly, at a meeting of the Town Council:

“Together with the Jews we drove prosperity out

120

THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

of the country. If this lasts a few years longer
may be good Christians, but we’ll be as poor
church mice!”

CHAPTER XI.

A STORMY DEBATE

When summer was over and autumn was tinting
the leaves with its brilliant hues, the krone began to
fall again, (as had become its habit,) and the cos
of living to rise. Prices became preposterous, even
the rich hesitated to buy new clothes; laborers, o -
fice workers, and even the unemployed made new
demands. A ride on the tramway car cost ten
thousand kronen, a pound of butter a hun re

thousand. , ..

In October, when bitterness, restlessness, and dis-

content were at their height, the National Assembly
convened; the face of the Chancellor was care-worn
and deeply lined. When he spoke the awed silence
of the old days did not prevail; instead, there were
calls and loud remarks, even the galleries hooted
occasionally, and the small Social-Democratic op¬
position no longer let itself be intimidated, but con-
stantly joined in the debate.

121

122

THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

After surveying the hopeless financial condition
of the country, Schwertfeger went on to say:

“I must tell you frankly that the Christian people
of Austria will be called upon to make many great
sacrifices.” (Call from the gallery: “Only the
Christians, of course, since we threw out the Jews!”)
“Sacrifices that will require a stout heart and loyal
patriotism! The government needs money for the
continuance of its administrative business; and as
we are unable to obtain further credit abroad, we
must resort to new taxes, direct and indirect, to bring
in the enormous sums required for the administra¬
tion, to cover the interest on our debt, and to pay
for the support of the unemployed.

“I know, ladies and gentlemen, that the people are
bitterly disappointed; I assure you that I am also.
The trouble is that we underestimated the difficul¬
ties of the transitory period, and thought that the
Christian citizens would adapt themselves better to
the control of our financial and business undertak¬
ings, which had been entirely in the hands of the
Jews. But what are such disappointments in com¬
parison with the lofty goal we have set ourselves —
to give back Austria to her Aryan people, to build
up a country that will be free of the spirit of usury,
free of Jewish scepticism, free of the corrupting

A STORMY DEBATE

123

properties and elements that represent Jewry!

At the close of his speech the Chancellor, raising
his voice, put the question of confidence.

Dr. Wolters, representing the small Socialist frac¬
tion, spoke against the granting of credit, against
approval of the government’s plans and against the
vote of confidence. Vividly he portrayed the ever¬
growing misery, the imminent danger of national
bankruptcy, the devastation of Austria s economic
and intellectual life. Among other things he said:

“More than two years ago, when he was arguing
for his anti- Jewish law, the honorable Chancellor
called our people honest, simple, and sincere, and
declared that they are not fit to compete with that
superior race, the Jews. But he overlooked one
thing: That even without Jews we honest, sincere,
and simple Austrians would be surrounded by na¬
tions which are all the more superior to us now that
the Jews are no longer with us. What has become
of Central-European commerce since the Jews are
gone? We have lost it, for the Jews have taken it
along to Prague and Budapest. What has become
of our flourishing clothing, jewelry, and millinery
industries? They have disappeared almost entirely,
for they cannot live on honesty and sincerity alone,
but need the Jewish purchasers of all the world, who

124

THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

make no bones about spending their easily acquired
money. Today it is evident that we cannot dispense
with the Jews.”

Wild shouts interrupted the Socialist leader. The
Christian-Socialists and German Nationalists were
furious, and cried, “Throw out the hireling of the
Jews!” The turmoil became so great that the Presi¬
ding Officer, the red-bearded Tyrolese, had to close
the meeting temporarily. When he opened it again,
he reprimanded Dr. Wolters severely, because his
words had deeply wounded the Christian sentiment
of the deputies, and because he had attempted to
undermine the foundations of the new state.

Finally all the proposals of the government were
accepted, over the opposition of the Socialists. But
many deputies had left before the vote, and later
Schwertfeger, smiling grimly, told his Presiding Of¬
ficer:

“This time they ran away — but next time they’ll
vote against me, those opportunists, always looking
for the winning side. Yesterday they shouted
‘Hosannah,’ — but tomorrow they’ll cry ‘ CrucifigeV ”

CHAPTER XII.

THE LEAGUE OF TRUE CHRISTIANS

Odd, mysterious things were happening. One
morning hundreds of men and women stood before
advertising kiosks at the Schottentor, before the
Opera, in the Stubenring, and in other localities,
where someone had attached, by means of a tack,
small octavo leaflets bearing the following legend:

“Citizens of Vienna and Austria! Arise be¬
fore you are destroyed altogether! With the Jews
you drove out prosperity, hope and the possibil¬
ity of future development! Accursed be the
demagogues who misled you!

The League of True Christians.”

People read the impudent words aloud; many
were indignant, and declared it was the work of
Freemasons; others went away silently, and still
others had the courage to voice their approval and to
look defiantly at those who differed.

125

126

THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

A few days later new posters appeared in various
places, reading:

“Vienna is becoming provincialized! Citizens
of Vienna, do you not see it? Another year or
two, and the old metropolis, once the seat of em¬
perors, will have become a shabby little hamlet,
forgotten by all the world!”

As the burden of the poster was also being pub¬
lished in the Arbeiter-Zeitung, it began to affect the
people’s nerves, and to cause restlessnesss through¬
out the city. Was there not some truth in this last
statement of the mysterious League of True Chris¬
tians? It gave rise to heated discussions at meetings,
in the barroom, and on the tramway. Somehow the
remark about the provincialization of Vienna hov¬
ered in the air — it seemed to acquire wings, for soon
it was heard everywhere, and even the Christian
Weltpresse quite unintentionally closed an editorial
with: “We must do everything to avoid provinciali¬
zation!”

The government, very much annoyed, exhorted
the police to discover the malefactor who was put¬
ting up the posters. But their efforts were in vain.
New leaflets appeared every day or two, always in
different places — on the doors of the houses and
churches, once even on the portals of the Chancellor’s
Palace, of Police Headquarters, and of the Parlia-

THE LEAGUE OF TRUE CHRISTIANS 127

*■

ment Building. Always they bore a terse but effective
attack on the government, an inflammatory sugges¬
tion to the people. And each time the Arbeiter-
Zeitung, having received a mailed copy the day be¬
fore, was enabled to publish in its early morning edi¬
tion the contents of the leaflet which would be put up
that day.

After a short while all Vienna was seething with
excitement; almost all conversation centered about
these leaflets, and everybody puzzled over who
might be behind this mysterious League. From
week to week the number of those who agreed with
the message of the little proclamations increased,
Social-Democratic meetings again drew large crowds,
and the Chancellor’s prestige fell to an appreciable
extent.

One afternoon Lotte went over to Leo’s 'earlier
than he had expected. As she had her own key to
the apartment, and since Leo was not waiting for
her in the living-room as he usually did, she went
directly into the studio. Leo quickly threw a cloth
over a little wooden table, and then greeted her with
a somewhat embarrassed air.

Lotte pulled his little beard, looked straight into
his eyes, and said:

“Look here, Leo, you’re trying to hide something

128

THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

from me! What have you got there under that
cloth?”

Leo laughed heartily.

“You’ve the eyes of a lynx, darling mine! Well,

I guess I’ll have to tell you my secret now.”

He pulled off the cloth, and Lotte saw, beside a
box of type and a miniature hand-press, a pile of
newly printed sheets. Amazed, she read.

“Citizens of Vienna! Are you better or worse
off today than in the time of the Jews? Think
it over calmly, and you will find the right answer.^
Years ago we all cried: ‘Throw out the Jews!
But today we cry: ‘Let in the Jews who really
want to work loyally with us!’

The League of True Christians.”

Dumfounded, uncomprehending, Lotte dropped
the paper and picked up another sheet, on which
was printed:

“We are not longing for the Jewish bankers.
But if we want to escape hopeless misery we must
welcome back the intelligent, clever Jews who can
be of value to us. Arise, and act, before it is too

late! The League of True Christians.”

Lotte looked inquiringly at her fiance.

He picked her up, kissed the tip of her nose, and
again roared with laughter.

“Don’t you understand, you child? I, all by my-

THE LEAGUE OF TRUE CHRISTIANS 129

self, am that League of True Christians that has
been driving Vienna crazy for weeks! And I shan’t
stop before the great storm breaks. Mark my words,
these two leaflets will do the work! They’re my
gas and stink bombs and flares, with which I kill,
suffocate, and illuminate.”

Lotte was trembling.

“If you’re caught at it, Leo, it’ll be all over with
you!”

“If _ if! But they won’t get me! I have a

marvellous technique for putting up the leaflets 1
As I stroll past a door or a wall in the morning
without stopping for a second, but while walking—
I push in the tack to which the paper has already
been attached. And even if the police tear down
the leaflet a few minutes later there’s no harm done,
for the Arbeiter-Zeitung has already printed its con¬
tents. You can trust me, dear; it has to be done
this way. I’ve mapped out my course to a ‘T,’ and

I’m devilish careful anyway.”

Swinging her slender legs as she sat perched on
the broad drawing-table, Lotte spoke thoughtfully.

“You know, Leo, I think you’ve already accom¬
plished a great deal. We had quite a crowd at our
house yesterday, ten men and women, and mostly
all the conversation was about the expulsion of the

i3o THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

Jews and its consequences. Everybody, including
Hofrat Tumpel, agreed that the expulsion should
have been limited to some of the Eastern Jews —
to those who could not prove that they had a decent
occupation. And finally Hofrat Tumpel, who, a
year ago, used to become furious if you dared to dif¬
fer ever so slightly with the Chancellor, remarked:

“ Wes, it seems that a very delicate mechanism
has been interfered with too abruptly! There are
some Jewish qualities that are not to be underesti¬
mated, and which we miss badly.’

“This may of course have something to do with
the fact that the Hofrat’s brother owns the book¬
shop in the Seilergasse where only de luxe and
artistic editions are sold. Since the Jews are gone
his business amounts to practically nothing, and on
two occasions his brother, the Hofrat, has had to
give him large sums of money to save him from
bankruptcy. Another thing, Leo: I always keep
my eyes and ears open — in the morning when I do
my shopping, and at concerts, at the opera, and on
the tramway. And I always hear people recalling
the past more and more wistfully, and speaking of
it as if it had been very beautiful. ‘In the old days,
when the Jews were still here,’— they say that in
every imaginable tone of voice, but never with

THE LEAGUE OF TRUE CHRISTIANS 13 1

hatred. You know, I think people are actually be¬
coming lonesome for the Jews!”

Leo rewarded her keenness by pressing Her to his
breast. “And I’ll do my share to make their long¬
ing irresistible.”

“But be very careful, Leo! Don’t forget that if
they kill you I’ll have to die, too!”

CHAPTER XIII.

A MELANCHOLY CHRISTMAS

Never had Vienna experienced a more melancholy
Christmas. The enormous cost of living was sup¬
plemented by an absolute standstill of all activity.
High prices alone would not have bothered the
worthy Phaeaceans. They had been accustomed to
them for a decade; as a matter of fact it did not
make much difference whether a half -pint of wine
cost five or ten thousand kronen, if people earned
enough, if the laborer received high wages, and the
merchant had his safe full of money every evening.
But this was the case no longer. The bulk of the
currency lay dormant in the stockings of the peas¬
ants; in the cities no one wanted to buy; a large
part of the working class was idle and dependent on
government support; and the Christmas numbers of
the papers published statistics which revealed that in
two years about five thousand branch banks, cafes,
restaurants, and shops had closed down in Vienna

132

A MELANCHOLY CHRISTMAS 133

alone. Lately one big failure after the other had
been occurring in industry. Corporations that to
the last minute had been thought bomb-proof were
now declaring themselves insolvent, and rumor
predicted the collapse of two great banks.

Matters having reached such a state, what did it
avail the Viennese that there was plenty of room
everywhere, that the theatres were not sold out even
on the Christmas holidays, and that one no longer
had to meet those provoking Jewish noses? What did
it avail them that they had returned to Christian
simplicity and the full beard, when the barbers’ as¬
sistants had to be discharged by the dozen because
there was no more work for them?

The condition of the jewelers was the worst of
all. Most of them had been Jews and had there¬
fore been forced to leave; and now their business
was being conducted by former petty watch-repair¬
ers and other doubtless very estimable individuals
who, however, had no connections whatever with
the Dutch precious stone market, (which is almost
exclusively in Jewish hands,) and who therefore
were thoroughly taken in at every purchase. Finally
buying abroad stopped altogether, for the de¬
mand for jewelry disappeared entirely, while the
number of those who were forced to sell increased

134

THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

constantly. Slowly but surely most of the jewelry
belonging to Austrians travelled to neighboring
countries, to England, France, and America; but
even there the jewelers who were the agents for this
export trade had to suffer. If a dealer bought a rope
of pearls today from a private owner for ten billion
kronen, and spon after deposited it on the neck of
an American woman in exchange for thirty billion,
he imagined that he had put through a splendid deal,
celebrated the joyous occasion with wine, sang the
praises of Dr. Schwertfeger, and bought a fat goose,
(which no longer was the special privilege of the
Jews). But before he had digested the rich goose-
liver his thirty billions were not worth as much as
the ten he had spent, and he had no more money
for further purchases.

So it was not at all surprising that the Yuletide
brought a wave of embitterment and discontent to
Vienna, and that the customary noise and merriment
of the New Year’s Eve celebration was stifled under
a blanket of ill temper and discouragement.

If the Chancellor had heard the conversation that
occurred during Christmas week between Herr
Habietnik, owner of the huge department store in
the Kartnerstrasse, and Herr Mauler, proprietor of
the large jewelry establishment on the Graben, his
wrath would have waxed even greater.

A MELANCHOLY CHRISTMAS 135

Sitting in the Grabencafe, Herr Habietnik and
Herr Mauler were grumbling about the miserable
Christmas business, which would surely seal the
ruin of thousands of business men. Suddenly Herr
Habietnik leaned over toward Herr Mauler and told
him of a dream he had had the night before.

“Just think, Herr Mauler, I dreamt that all of a
sudden only Jews and Jewesses start to come to my
store. Every last one of ’em’s dressed in the latest
style, and carries piles of bank-notes, and there’s a
big rush. The girls can’t bring the furs and cloth
and cloaks and suits fast enough for ’em, and all the
ready-made clothing department’s filled with silks
and velvets and laces and embroideries. But noth¬
ing’s good enough for ’em, and one Jewish lady,
dressed in very good and stylish clothes, keeps on
crying: ‘That’s nothing! We’re coming from Paris
and Palestine, where everything’s in the latest style.
Show me the best you’ve got!’ Then, without any
warning, my head salesgirl brings out a pair of cot¬
ton bloomers and says: ‘But my dear Jewish lady,
this is the newest thing from Paris!’ Then every¬
body laughs so terrible much that I wake up.
Don’t you think, Herr Mauler, that this dream
means something?”

Herr Mauler grinned as he answered:

136 THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

“Yes — it means that pretty soon all the world’ll
be laughing at us, and we’ll be wrapping ourselves
in flannel and cotton before we’re buried for good.
But one thing’s sure, Herr Habietnik. If an auto¬
mobile was to stop in front of my shop with a Jew¬
ish couple in it, I’d kiss ’em both, and I’d be happy
again! You know, Herr Habietnik, in the old days,
when I was still a clerk with Herr Zwirner, what
used to have my store, I often thought it really was
a shame that almost no one but the Jews had the
money for diamonds and pearls. And once I even
said so out loud. Then Herr Zwirner laughed in my
face and said: “Don’t be a fool, Mauler, but be
glad the} Jews buy and put money in circulation. Or
would you like it better if they was to hide and bury
their money like the peasants? You’ll see, if the
anti-Semitism business keeps on the rich Jews’ll
leave the country — and then all the stores’ll have to
close down!’

“Well — and now both the rich and poor Jews have
left Austria, and we’re all finished good and proper!”

CHAPTER XIV.

AN INFLAMMATORY SPEECH

In the Spineder home Christmas Eve had been
celebrated in the usual patriarchal manner. But
the atmosphere was not entirely cheerful. The
Hofrat was beginning to have grave financial wor¬
ries because of the depreciation of his fortune, Frau
Spineder had not yet recovered from the shock of
having had to pay a quarter million for her Christ¬
mas carp and three million for the Christmas goose;
and Lotte was worried because she had received no
news of Leo although she had hoped that he would
at least remember her with a Christmas card.

As they were reverentially consuming the costly
fish, the doorbell rang and the maid announced
that a man had come to deliver something per¬
sonally to the young lady. Lotte hurried out, and
the fur-coated man who had something to deliver to
her kissed her madly in the dark hall before he press¬
ed a tiny package into her hand and hurried away.

In the dining room Lotte unwrapped the little

137

138 THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

package and, from a leather case, drew out a ring
set with a magnificent pearl the size of a hazelnut.

“A Christmas present from M. Henry Dufresne,”
said Lotte, blushing furiously; and as she drew the
ring on her finger her young heart was filled with
infinite happiness.

The Hofrat, however, was quite taken aback, and
declared categorically:

“But now, Lotte, this M. Dufresne must present
himself at last, and ask for your hand. For if such
a ring is given to a girl it’s nothing less than an
engagement ring.”

Lotte laughed as she kissed her father.

Only a little more patience ! Leo — Henry says
he’ll come to see you very soon.”

But the mother shook her head again and
thought:

“Queer times, queer children! She loves a man,
forgets him, and then confuses his name with that
of his successor!”

In January a number of large consumers’ organi¬
zations united to hold a mass meeting in the public
auditorium of the City Hall with the slogan: “We
cannot go on!” Tens of thousands of people at¬
tended the meeting, and in spite of the extraordinary

AN INFLAMMATORY SPEECH 139

cold, there stood before the building enormous
crowds for whom there was no room within.

The assembly presented a remarkable appearance.
Leo Strakosch, who had also come there, observed
an unprecedented number of men with full beards,
and of cries of “Hail!” With a slightly different
background he could have supposed himself at an
assembly of Tyrolese peasants in the days of An¬
dreas Hofer. The gentle sex was also very well rep¬
resented, but not by the most beautiful of its
members in Vienna. Amid general cheering the
druggist, Dr. Njedestjenski, opened the meeting with
the declaration that things could go on thus no longer.
He carefully avoided any connection of the wide¬
spread poverty and high cost of living with the ex¬
pulsion of the Jews, but spoke in the most approved
Pan-German manner, averring that the cause of the
pitiable ruin of Vienna lay solely in the fact that
Austria could not be annexed to Germany. Where¬
upon a working-man interrupted, amid great
hilarity:

“We can’t annex ourselves any more! Or do you
think the Germans are as silly as we, and will throw
out their Jews?”

This wrecked the druggist’s train of thought; he
stammered a little more of German unity and na-

140

THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

tional consciousness, shouted “Hail!” and gave over
the floor to the speakers of the evening. Whereupon
the Jews became almost the sole topic of discussion.
And they were spoken of in such a way that an un¬
initiated auditor would have believed Vienna to be
the most philo-Semitic city in the world. When a
wine-dealer began to speak in an anti- Jewish tone he
was actually howled off the stage, and when some¬
one called: “We’d be better off if we’d learned from
the Jews instead of driving ’em out!” there was
much applause. Leo could control himself no longer.
His heart beating wildly, he designated his wish to
speak, saying to himself as he mounted the platform:
“Impudence, stand by me!” He pretended to have an
imperfect command of the German language, em¬
phasized over and over again that, as a Frenchman,
he was really not entitled to meddle in Austrian af¬
fairs; but, he said, his love for this incomparably
beautiful and charming city, a close second to — if
not the peer of — Paris, forced him to express his
views. At this the bearded portion of the audience
felt flattered, while the women were delighted by
the slender young man, handsome in spite of his
imperial beard; and everybody shouted: “Hail!”
Thereupon Leo continued with his French accent:

“In Paris, too, we have very many Jews, good and

AN INFLAMMATORY SPEECH 141

bad, useful and noxious. In any case, many of
them deserve all respect, and are of great value to
the country. But it would never occur to any of us
to exile the Jews; instead, we all try to make use
of their good points. As this is not my home, I don’t
know all the qualities of the Viennese Jews. But
I can say that in Paris I met very many exiles from
Vienna who made a splendid impression and who
doubtless will be good Frenchmen very soon. It
is possible that there is a greater difference between
the Austrian Christians and the Jews than between
the latter and the more emotional and tempera¬
mental Frenchmen. But in that case they should
complement each other all the better. I hear that
in this country the Jews were reproached with con¬
trolling capital and possessing more money, pro¬
portionately, than the Christian citizens. Very
good, ladies and gentlemen. But this merely goes
to prove that they think and act more quickly —
and from such qualities a wise government should
be able to derive benefit for the community.”

Loud interjections from all sides: “Yes, indeed,
a wise government — but ours is stupid! He’s right!
Hail! Hail!”

“Ladies and gentlemen,” continued Leo, smiling,
“it really makes no difference whether one likes the

142

THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

Jews or not. The yeast that is used in the making
of bread has a horrible taste — but bread cannot be
made without it. We must look at the Jews in a
similar light. Yeast — not very pleasant by itself,
and harmful in excessive quantities — but indis¬
pensable, in the right proportion, for our daily bread.
And I think your bread is refusing to rise for lack
of yeast.

“Now, however, is not the time for arguments or
for crying over spilled milk, but for seeing what
can be done about it. I don’t know what can be
done in Austria. Were such a contingency to arise
in France the people would insist on new elections,
to show whether the country is satisfied with condi¬
tions as they are, or whether they should be
changed.”

With these words Leo left the platform, and
quickly became lost in the crowd. The assembly,
however, became fearfully excited. The words
“new elections” had struck the human mass as a
spark might strike a keg of dynamite; the huge
auditorium shook, as thirty thousand throats shouted
these words, which found their way out on the street
and became the catch-word of the day.

In the editorial offices of the Arbeiter-Zeitung
a conference of the chief editors and confidential

AN INFLAMMATORY SPEECH 143

agents of the party was held the next day; and for
the first time in years it was resolved to inaugurate
again an active, energetic political campaign, and
to take this campaign out of the closed chamber and
into the street. The editor-in-chief of the Arbeiter-
Zeitung , a former pen-cutter, Wunderlich by name,
who managed the heritage of Viktor Adler as best
he could, made the following pronouncement:

“We must adopt the slogan of this remarkable
French painter, whose name cannot possibly be
Diefress, as the idiotic chairman had it. Beginning
right now we will voice incessantly a demand for
new elections through our papers, assemblies, and
councils. And now we will put to work our friends
in France, Holland, Czechoslovakia, England, and
America, and induce them* to do their utmost to have
large amounts of kronen thrown on the market.
For if there is another appreciable fall of the krone,
and another rise of the now stationary cost of liv¬
ing — then the time is ripe for us, and we will be
able, if necessary, to use force to bring about the
dissolution of the National Assembly.”

CHAPTER XV.

HERR LABERL TURNS

The next few days were marked by another event
that caused great consternation in uncompromisingly
Christian-Socialist circles. The Mayor of Vienna,
after Schwertfeger the most influential man of the
country — Herr Karl Maria Laberl fell over, figur¬
atively speaking. Not voluntarily, however, but
because he was tripped up by the President of the
Municipal Council, Herr Kallop. City Hall had
long known that Herr Kallop’s name should really
be read from right to left, that is, “Poliak,” as this
had been his grandfather’s name. When the Jews
were still in Vienna the story was told among them
that the old Poliak had been an immigrant grain-
dealer from Galicia, who became converted on his
marriage to a Christian. The name Kallop had been
adopted by his son, who was a lawyer highly
respected in Christian circles; he married a Christ¬
ian also, so that, according to the Schwertfeger law,

144

HERR LABERL TURNS

145

the grandchildren of the old Poliak were full-blooded
Aryans. Josef Kallop, the lawyer’s son, was a ne’er-
do-well in his youth, unable to complete the studies
required for admission to the bar; but he became
a successful Municipal Councillor. Infinitely more
shrewd than most of his colleagues, he soon became
the Presiding Officer, and for quite some time had
been the right hand of Mayor Laberl.

It was Herr Kallop, therefore, who brought about
the fall of the Mayor. He began by explaining that
a great change was impending.

“As you can clearly see, Herr Laberl, things can’t
go on this way. The near future will bring disturb¬
ances that will be quite serious; and one of these
days the government will go up in thin smoke, so to
speak. If you don’t want to go up with it you’d
better change your course before it’s too late.
Don’t stick too closely to Schwertfeger; admit that
expulsion of all the Jews was going a little too far.
And then, in the midst of the rumpus that is in¬
evitable, all Vienna will suddenly stop and say to
itself: ‘Our Mayor is a smart fellow — he knows
when we’ve had enough of a good thing, and he’ll

be able to help us out of this fix.’ ”

Herr Karl Maria Laberl nodded, stroked his fine
white beard, and seemed entirely convinced by this

i46 THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

superior reasoning; yet he asked, a little timorously:

“That’s quite right, what you say there, my dear
Kallop; it’s just what I’ve been thinking for a long
time. But how am I to go about it?”

“Very simple, Your Honor. We call a meeting of
the Christian-Socialist citizens’ league of, say, the
First District, for there the business men are actually
in a panic. And then you’ll make a speech which
we’ll work out together.”

This was done; it must be noted, however, that
the “working out together” of the speech consisted
in Herr Laberl’s memorizing the oration composed
by the President of the Municipal Council. At the
meeting of the citizens’ league Herr Laberl greeted
the assembly with the utmost solemnity, spoke of
the grave times and unbearable conditions, and
finally said :

“The demand for new elections is becoming more
and more stormy; and I am the last man to refuse
to heed that demand. On the contrary, I am, per¬
sonally, in favor of doing what the people want, and
of determining, by means of new elections whether
the voters of Austria still approve of what the gov¬
ernment did more than two years ago or whether
they want a radical change. I — and doubtless you
also, gentlemen — see only one goal: To make pos-

HERR LABERL TURNS

147

sible the rehabilitation of our country, to bring back
the light of day to our unfortunate nation, hurled
into a labyrinth by the Entente — but, perhaps, by
grave errors of its own also. Gentlemen, we may
be guided by no dogma, no fanaticism, no personal
likes or dislikes, but only by the thought of what is
best for our land!”

Kallop saw to it that the Municipal Press Bureau
gave over the Mayor’s speech to the papers word
for word that very night; and the next day even
the simplest among the Viennese knew that at the
proper moment Karl Maria Laberl would leave the
Chancellor in the lurch.

When Dr. Schwertfeger read the Mayor’s speech
in the morning papers — of which only the Arbeiter-
Zeitung provided adequate comment— bitter gall
rose in his mouth, and he spat it out. Then he
looked long, forlornly, dully over the public park,
covered with a white shroud.

But in the City Hall Herr Kallop gaily rubbed
his hands. And after making sure that neither a
colleague nor an inferior was in the room, he said
loudly and distinctly, “Mazeltov!” knocking thrice
on the under side of the table. Incidentally, it
might be divulged that Herr Kallop admired a
voluptuous Jewess — twice divorced, to be sure, but

i48 THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

blessed with many millions by way of compensation
— who now lived in exile in Prague. And he longed
for nothing so much as for the return of her person
and her millions to his beloved country — if for no
other reason, than because he could not possibly
cope any longer with the rising cost of living on his
salary as President of the Municipal Council, and
because, furthermore, he had made a mistake in his
speculations on the Polish mark.

CHAPTER XVI.

“DOWN WITH THE GOVERNMENT!”

The Mardi Gras season of this year was powerless
to improve the humor of the Viennese. Bitter cold,
much snow, rooms unheated because a hundred¬
weight of coal cost a hundred thousand kronen,
failure after failure, the closing of a great bank in
which many had deposited their money.

Dances and fancy dress balls were held in the sign
of the peasant costume exclusively. As extravagant
dress was not being indulged in, necessity was made
into a virtue, only country dances were given, and
Vienna looked more like a country fair than a
metropolis.

The city’s theatrical life had come to an absolute
standstill. The best members of the National Opera
were constantly playing abroad, the Philharmonic
Orchestra was just finishing a tour in South America,
the private theatres had degenerated into provincial
troupes with inadequate direction, inferior actors,

149

THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

*5°

and antiquated scenery; and visiting artists from
abroad had long ago stopped coming because Vienna
could not pay the great sums they demanded. Be¬
sides, some papers had lately had to suspend publica¬
tion because the number of their readers was con¬
stantly diminishing; and suddenly the alarm was
sounded again: “The krone is falling!”

Enormous quantities of kronen were being sold
on the foreign exchanges, so that Zurich soon rated
them at the thirty-thousandth part of a centime.
Prices rose in proportion, and the populace began to
grow desperate. When a pound of fat cost a half
million kronen there appeared again the mysterious
little leaflet of the League of True Christians, with
the question:

“How long, Citizens of Vienna, will you bear
with this government? When will you at last
make the National Assembly dissolve, and force
new elections to be called?”

The morning of the next day was marked by
looting in the markets; the embittered housewives
stormed the stands, beat their owners, and took
possession of the foodstuffs. In Favoriten the riot
developed a revolutionary character; but the Na¬
tional Guard, which was called out, refused to
proceed against the women.

DOWN WITH THE GOVERNMENT 15 1

In the National Assembly, which was in session
just then, not only the Social-Democrats, but some
Christian-Socialists and Pan-Germans as well, put
the question to the government as to what it pro¬
posed to do to help the desperate people. The Social-
Democrats made a declaration of urgency and moved
that the government immediately call new elections,
so that the voters could decide themselves whether
they were prepared to bear present conditions any
longer.

Deathly pale, the Chancellor rose to rejoin.

“To call new elections at this moment of general
confusion would be to deliver the fate of our coun¬
try into the hands of the radical elements, and to
open our gates wide to the Jews! The proudest
and greatest work ever created by the Austrian legis¬
lature would collapse because we are not patient
enough, because we are not capable of sufficient
self-denial to endure present conditions and over¬
come our difficulties. I know that international
Jewry is mixed up in this, and doubtless agitators,
bought with Jewish money, are working to . . .”

The rest of the Chancellor’s words were lost in
the terrific hullabaloo that now filled the house.
The Social-Democrats knocked on their desks, the
galleries shouted wildly, and even from the benches

1 52

THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

of his partisans came calls like “Have you proof
for your statements?”

At six o’clock in the evening the Social-Demo¬
crats’ declaration of urgency was still being discus¬
sed; and its proponents were very evidently doing
their utmost to prolong the session. Every speaker
talked for hours; as soon as one had finished an¬
other took the floor — most of the deputies had stop¬
ped listening long ago, and were refreshing them¬
selves at the buffet, and even the ministers’ bench
was empty. Only Schwertfeger, rigidly sullen, his
arms folded, was still in his seat.

Suddenly new life came into the house. The
rumor spread that masses of working-men were ad¬
vancing; immediately after the sound of the workers’
song was heard from afar, the cheering and shout¬
ing of the excited mob became louder and louder,
until finally a single howl penetrated the closed win¬
dows:

“Down with the government! Down with the
National Assembly! We demand new elections!”

Great crowds with their flags and standards were
surrounding the Parliament Building, new proces¬
sions were constantly arriving; all the workers of
Greater Vienna, clerks and office employes — all had
marched out in closed groups from the factories and
shops, stores and offices.

DOWN WITH THE GOVERNMENT 153

Now powerful blows thundered on the doors of
the building, which had been locked hurriedly —
now a hailstorm of stones rattled against the win¬
dows — now a deputation of workers had forced an
entry. Their leader — an iron-worker by the name
of Sturmer, a powerful fellow with bright eyes and
an enormous head — took up his position in the midst
of the deputies, who, panic-struck, were huddled
together like sheep during a storm; and he declared
briefly:

“The army is with us, and so are the younger men
on the police force. Either the government dissolves
Parliament within ten minutes and orders new elec¬
tions to be called immediately, or the masses will
proceed with violence. The bitterness of the people
is boundless; this time the middle classes stand be¬
hind the workers, and the question is not political,
but one of actual desperation. The women are the
most furious— listen to them shrieking for firing the
building. If the government does not give in we will
not answer for the consequences!”

And the inevitable happened. After a brief con¬
sultation with the Christian-Socialist and Pan-Ger¬
man party leaders the government announced that it
would submit to the terror, would dissolve the As¬
sembly, and would call new elections immediately.

154

THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

The Chancellor handed in his resignation then and
there, but his colleagues and the party chiefs ad¬
jured him not to desert them at this critical moment;
he consented, therefore, to keep the reins of gov¬
ernment in his hands until after the elections.

When the excited mob was informed of the dis¬
solution of the National Assembly the tension was
transformed into wild joy; and in the evening that
followed the wine supply of Vienna suffered con¬
siderable diminution.

Even the Frenchman, Henry Dufresne, who had
witnessed the memorable meeting from the gallery,
drank a great deal too much, all alone in his studio.
The next morning, however, he was in perfect condi¬
tion again; he made an excellent sketch for the title
page of one of Zola’s novels, and when Lotte came
to him, snow-covered and with cold red cheeks, he
picked her up and swung her around.

Lotte was in as high spirits as he, for after read¬
ing the morning papers her father had said to her
very gravely:

“I see a great conflict in store for you, my child !
Everything indicates that Leo Strakosch will soon be
able to return to Vienna. And then you’ll have to
choose between him, whom you loved so much and
whom I would welcome as a son, and this mysterious
Frenchman, whom we have never met!”

DOWN WITH THE GOVERNMENT 155

When Lotte smilingly replied that she would like
to have both Leo and the Frenchman, Hofrat
Spineder became really angry, called her frivolous
and immoral, and required much coaxing before he
could be placated again.

But now Lotte sat on her lovor’s knee and kissed
Henry Dufresne and Leo Strakosch, combined in
one person, with great enthusiasm.

CHAPTER XVII.

PREPARATIONS

Leo, who had almost no chance to speak with any¬
one except Lotte and his cleaning woman, had lately
made the acquaintance of two men whom he con¬
sidered important. One was the Deputy Wenzel
Krotzl, the other the proprietor of the great depart¬
ment store in the Kartnerstrasse, Herr Habietnik.

Leo had met Krotzl in the following manner:
Returning home late one night from the coffee¬
house where he used to read his papers and maga¬
zines, he found a man lying on the bottom step, very
much the worse for liquor, weeping bitterly and
making vain efforts to get on his feet. Leo helped
him to his apartment, which was located under his
own studio, and discovered, by the way, that he
had before him the honorable Deputy Wenzel
Krotzl, whose avocation was that of real estate
profiteer. Not only was this advertised on the door,
but as he reeled forward and back Herr Krotzl
persisted in proclaiming at the top of his voice:

156

PREPARATIONS

157

“If any’un shayzh I’m drunk he’zh a crook an’ a
Jew beshidezh! I’m a duly ’lected dep’ty an’
memmer o’ the Nash’n’l ’Shembly, an’ I got fifty
houzhezh to shell w’at ushed to b’long to them Jew
shwine!”

In the course of time Leo had opportunity to
learn that Herr Krotzl was not only a rabid anti-
Semite but also a notorious drunkard, who usually
had a drop too much even at breakfast at the
Parliament buffet. However, he had considerable
gifts of persuasion, and was quite popular among
his constituents for his homely way of putting
things. He was a widower, and from time to time
harbored in his home a presumable housekeeper — oc¬
casionally one that had barely passed the legal limit
of fourteen years.

It was in a much more conventional manner that
Leo met Herr Habietnik. M. Dufresne was ac¬
customed to supply his wants in the line of ties and
underwear in the Kartnerstrasse department store,
which in spite of its epidemic of woolen still carried
the best wares; and on one such occasion he had
entered into conversation with Herr Habietnik.
The latter was delighted to wait personally on this
Frenchman of distinction who bore himself impec¬
cably and knew that a blue cheviot suit required a

158 THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

pearl-gray silk tie. There ensued an animated talk
in the course of which Leo saw how deeply the in¬
telligent merchant suffered from prevailing con¬
ditions. Thereafter the two frequently met in the
store, and finally made occasional appointments to
meet in the Grabencafe.

After the National Assembly had been dissolved
Leo hastened to get in touch with Herr Habietnik
again, and in the course of the conversation asked
him for his opinion on future developments.

“Well, the Socialists are working full steam again,
and will win back the votes they lost the last time.
The Christian-Socialists and Pan-Germans have lost
their heads, and haven’t come out with their plat¬
form as yet; but of course everyone who is not a
Social-Democrat will have to vote for one of the
two.”

“So that the Jewish law may remain in force?”

“Maybe, if the Socialists don’t get the two-thirds
majority necessary for every constitutional amend¬
ment. For I’m afraid that the Christian-Socialists
and Pan-Germans won’t have the courage to repeal
the special legislation against the Jews. I mean — I
should say I hope, for if the Jews come back they
may eventually even take away the store from
me.”

PREPARATIONS

i59

“Nonsense,” Leo declared energetically. “No one
can take from you what you have. Perhaps they’ll
buy it from you, or the former owner will content
himself with a partnership with you. But the most
important thing is that you’ll be able to throw out
the Alpine hats and woolen skirts, and will be able
to arrange your displays as you used to.”

Habietnik’s eyes shone as he replied with genuine
warmth :

“Yes, indeed! That’s the most important thing!
When I think that there might be life and luxury
here again, as in the old days — no, that dream is
too beautiful to come true.”

“Listen here, Herr Habietnik,” said Leo, laying
his hand on the merchant’s arm, “you’re the man
to make this dream come true. We are still weeks
away from the elections. That’s long enough for
the formation of a Citizens’ Party, consisting of
the liberal elements, the solid merchants, scholars,
lawyers, artists, and industrialists, with the frank
and open motto: The repeal of the special legisla¬
tion against the Jews!’ Take it up today, form
a committee of twelve, to include three merchants,
three industrialists, three steadily employed office
workers, and three men of the free academic profes¬
sions. Since you have no newspaper at your disposal

i6o

THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

as yet, print ten thousand posters, organize district
committees, make propaganda from street to street
and from house to house, and you cannot fail to be
successful. I am a stranger and therefore not as
familiar with conditions as you; but this enables
me to judge more objectively, and I am quite sure
that a considerable section of the public will greet
the new party with great enthusiasm.”

Herr Habietnik was all enthusiasm. That very
evening he gathered about fifty downtown mer¬
chants, manufacturers, and lawyers, and at one
o’clock in the morning there was organized a com¬
mittee that had at its disposal a fund amounting
to millions, pledged by the members of the group.

The new party was called “the Party of the
Active Citizens of Austria,” stood on a wholly
liberal-bourgeois platform, and began its work with
an animated and thorough campaign of agitation.
No one except Herr Habietnik knew that it was the
Frenchman Dufresne who composed the leaflets and
proclamations.

Their success surpassed their wildest expecta¬
tions. Formerly the people had been highly sus¬
picious of every attempt to found a democratic
bourgeois party, because the Jews would always
push themselves to the fore. But this time it was a

PREPARATIONS

161

purely Christian matter — the names of the leaders
were sufficient guarantee that this was no conspiracy
hatched by exiled Jews — and all the people who had
been harmed by the Jewish law crowded the com¬
mittee headquarters to join the new party. They
came in swarms, the merchants, the jewelers, the
assistants of the great tailors, the unemployed chauf¬
feurs — they brought their wives, and the rush be¬
came ever greater, in spite of the hue and cry raised
by the Christian-Socialist papers. Th e Arbeiter-
Zeitung kept quiet, refraining from all aggression.
Its chiefs knew that while the Party of Active Citi¬
zens would doubtless take many votes from the
Social-Democrats, it would, on the other hand, at¬
tract all the votes that usually remained uncast, and
some of those that would have gone to the Christian-
Socialists and Pan-Germans. So it limited itself to
an occasional polemic against some plank of the Citi¬
zens’ platform; but in doubtful districts there even
were some secret combines of the two parties.

As April third, the date which had been set for
the election, approached, the entire world began to
show interest in the outcome. The foreign ex¬
changes, adopting an attitude of waiting, permitted
the krone to rest peacefully in the depths; in Vienna
the excitement grew hourly, and gave rise to repeated

162

THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

excesses and malignant riots. For all the parties
worked with every means at their disposal: The
anti-Semites shouted of treason, and told hair-rais¬
ing stories of the international conspiracy of the
Jews; the Social-Democrats agitated against the
peasants — who, they said, were robbing the workers
of the city — and against the Christian demagogues
who had only wanted to enrich themselves through
the expulsions of the Jews; the new Citizens’ Party,
however, continually put out enormous posters that
demonstrated with figures the terrible misery pre¬
vailing in Vienna since the expulsion, and showed
how the city had actually degenerated into a gigantic
village, how all the spirit and enterprise had vanish¬
ed from its life. Over and over again, in every key
and variation, they asserted:

“The special legislation against the Jews must
be repealed. But at the same time it will be the
business of a wise and conscientious government
to keep out those elements that did not reside in
Vienna before the world war, unless they can
prove before a competent court, composed of
members of the middle and working classes, that
they are willing and able to do useful, productive,
valuable work which is essential for the common
good of Austria.”

In the Chancellor’s office there were daily sessions
that lasted far into the night, where consultations

PREPARATIONS

163

were held as to the best way of counteracting the
new party and the re-invigorated Socialist group.
Schwertfeger had had the right instinct. An enor¬
mous new loan had to be floated, the krone had to
rise, so that the people would see how solidly all
Christendom stood behind them — then the govern¬
ment would be victorious. Immediately after the
dissolution of the Parliament Professor Trumm, the
Minister of Finance, had hurried to Berlin, Paris,
and London, to beg and to plead. In vain! The
great Christian leagues abroad, the French anti-
Semites, the Dutch Christians — all expressed their
sympathy and friendship, inquired eagerly after the
fate of the many millions they had already sacri¬
ficed to the cause, and refused to unseal their pockets
again. Most disappointing of all was the reaction
of the American billionaire, Mr. Huxtable, on whom
they had counted with absolute certainty. He
answered none of their telegrams or pleas; and ten
days before the election there came a cable from
the Austrian government’s confidential agent in New
York, with this crushing message:

“Huxtable unapproachable. Secretly married to
Jewish girl from Chicago. Intends to sell loan given
Austria three years ago to Kuhn and Loeb Banking
Company for quarter of value.”

1 64 THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

Schwertfeger began to freeze into his now habitual
gloom, the anti-Semitic chiefs lost their heads entire¬
ly; but Mayor Laberl did something that created a
tremendous sensation. Three days before the elec¬
tion he resigned from the Christian-Socialist Citi¬
zens’ Club, and joined the Party of Active Citizens.
And more than half of the Municipal Council fol¬
lowed his example.

On this day a warm wind blew away the last
traces of snow from the hills about Vienna. And
in the Billrothstrasse studio two young people were
clasped in an ardent and yearning embrace. He
whispered:

“Oh, when will you be mine?”

And she replied dreamily:

“If you could only take off that little beard — it
tickles me sol”

CHAPTER XVIII.

THE ELECTION

The election called forth an interest unprecedented
in all the world. Old men, invalids, and cripples
went to the ballot-boxes; and in the afternoon, when
the polls were closed, it was known that ninety-nine
per cent of the enfranchised citizens of Vienna had
performed their duty to their country. Then the
counting of the votes began throughout the land,
lasting till early in the morning; and in the forenoon
extra editions of the Arbeiter-Zeitung and the Welt-
presse announced the amazing result.

Only the rural districts had remained faithful to
the Christian-Socialists and Pan-Germans. Vienna
had elected the candidates of the Socialists and the
Citizens’ Party almost exclusively, as had also the
smaller towns and the industrial region of Austria.
The new Parliament, therefore, was composed as
follows: Seventy Social-Democrats, thirty-six mem¬
bers of the Active Citizens’ Party, thirty Christian-
Socialists, and twenty-four Pan-Germans. This

16S

i66

THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

gave a hundred and six votes for the repeal of the
special anti-Jewish legislation, and fifty-four for its
continuance. Leo’s beautiful dream — and that of
the liberal Citizens and Socialists — therefore seemed
destroyed, for they lacked exactly one vote for the
two-thirds majority without which the Constitution
could not be amended. In spite of their over¬
whelming defeat, in spite of the fact that the gov¬
ernment had to resign immediately to make room
for a Social-Democratic ministry, the anti-Semites
were rejoicing, and paraded about the town with
banners inscribed with the slogan: “The Jews are
staying out!”

Just one thing did the vanquished victors fear.
The majority had announced that it would wait only
for the second session of the newly elected House,
which would take place in a week, before it would
put forward a declaration of urgency for the repeal
of the Jewish law and for the restoration of freedom
of movement for everyone without discrimination.
But what would happen if a Christian-Socialist or
Pan-German deputy were to fail to appear at the
session? Voluntary absence was beyond the
imagination. But, after all, one of the deputies
from the rural districts might fall ill or meet with
an accident, and this one would assure the enemy

THE ELECTION

167

of his two-thirds majority. To prevent such a
calamity the minority parties, on the day before the
assembly of the House, ordered special trains with
attendant physicians for all their deputies. In this
way they believed themselves secured against any
disastrous incident. For Vienna itself precautions
were unnecessary, for there their one and only rep¬
resentative was the realtor Herr Wenzel Krotzl,
elected by the vine-growers and inn-keepers of the
Nineteenth District, who were very prosperous in
Jew-purged Vienna. They were sure of him in
every respect, and he enjoyed excellent health.

Now this Herr Krotzl was Leo’s last hope, while
Lotte almost broke down under the terrible disap¬
pointment. She wept all day long, and scarcely
could muster the energy to hasten every day to Leo,
who vainly endeavored to inspire her with courage
and faith in the outcome. Hofrat Spineder, him¬
self deeply hurt and disappointed by the continuance
of the anti-Jewish law, could understand his daugh¬
ter no longer, and began to harbor grave doubts as
to her reason. He was very much worried as he
discussed her remarkable behavior with his wife.

“What in the world does it mean? She’s forgot¬
ten Leo, spends half the day with a new lover, this
Frenchman whom I’m beginning to hate without

THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

1 68

ever having seen him, suddenly declares that she’d
like to have both Leo and Dufresne, and now, when
Leo can’t come back, she sits there and cries her
eyes out. I think the girl’s out of her head!”

Frau Spineder sighed deeply.

UI can’t understand it myself, dear. I don’t know
my own child any more, and I’ve no idea as to what’s
going on in her heart. But in any case, if it develops
that the Jewish law remains in force, we must insist
on meeting this M. Dufresne.”

Herr Spineder nodded.

Yes, indeed! And if Lotte refuses again, or
tries to postpone the matter, we’ll send her to Kla-
genfurt, to her Aunt Minna!” . .

After days and nights of strenuous thought Leo
finally evolved a plan that would decide whether he
could remain in Vienna openly or would have to go
back to France. If the law were not repealed his
departure would become a matter of urgent neces¬
sity, for his friend Henry Dufresne, whose name
he bore, himself wanted to return to Paris from
southern France, and thenceforth Leo’s reckless
game would be in danger of discovery.

CHAPTER XIX.

A DISASTROUS DRINK

On the day of the opening of the National As¬
sembly — that is, the day before the first vital ses¬
sion — Leo Strakosch, equipped with a valise, made
various purchases. At Sacher’s he bought, for an
outrageous sum that once would have paid for an
entire building on the Ringstrasse, a Strassbourg
pate de foie gras in the original dish; and in the
Hotel Imperial he acquired three bottles of a deli¬
cious white Burgundy, three bottles of the heaviest
and most costly Bordeaux wines, and a bottle of
ancient French cognac. In the evening he waited
before the entrance of his house until he saw Herr
Krotzl, about to go to a bar after the solemn opening
session of the Assembly. Leo congratulated him
heartily on his re-election, and said:

“My dear sir, I should also like to attend the his¬
toric session of the House tomorrow. The meeting be¬
gins at eleven, so I’ll order my car for ten o’clock;
and if you’ve nothing against it, I’ll drive you over.”

169

170

THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

Herr Krotzl felt highly flattered at the cordiality
of the aristocratic and apparently very wealthy
young Frenchman. Thanking him profusely, he
accepted the invitation, adding:

“I’d be much obliged to you if you’d come to me
at ten o’clock, ’cause then I won’t be takin’ no
chances of sleepin’ too late. My housekeeper, the
poor fool, might forget to wake me, an’ I sleep so
sound that the alarm can’t get me up. An’ that’d be
a fine howdy-do, if I was to oversleep tomorrow.
Twenty-four hours later we’d have them damned
pigs o’ Jews back in Vienna!”

Henry Dufresne seemed to take his self-assumed
task of saving Austria from the Jews very seriously,
for he rang Herr Krotzl’s door-bell at only half-past
nine. A slovenly unwashed, but still rouged and
powdered young thing opened the door, and without
further ado let in the handsome Frenchman, whom
she knew well and who .was carrying a large box.
She was a little disappointed that he did not pay
the slightest attention to her and her considerably
exposed body, but merely gave her a bank-note and
asked her please to fetch the morning papers im¬
mediately from the store.

In the anteroom Leo made a great to-do about
unpacking his box until the girl had gone out on

A DISASTROUS DRINK 171

her errand; then he went quickly into the kitchen,
set the cuckoo clock back a full hour, tip-toed out
into the living-room and did the same to the grand¬
father clock there, and finally, without knocking,
noiselessly entered the door of the Deputy’s bed¬
room, where the honorable gentleman lay under the
covers, thunderous snores issuing from his open
mouth. Leo immediately discovered the gold watch
on the night table, pointing to a quarter of ten. In a
flash it was set to a quarter of nine, and then the
Frenchman entered on the unpleasant task of waking
Herr Krotzl, the Viennese pillar of the Christian-
Socialist party. It took quite some time before
Krotzl at last opened his swollen little eyes and
grasped the situation.

“Oh, Lord, it’s Herr Dufresne — is it as late as all
that?” Then, glancing at his watch, he growled:
“’Tain’t even nine yet! I could ’a’ slept another
hour!”

“Yes,” laughed Leo, “but I know a better way of
entertaining you and myself. Just think, when I
came home last night I found a package from Paris,
and in it the best wines of France. Well, since I’m
really happy about your success, I thought we could
celebrate our victory a little, just we two, before we
go on to the Parliament. For you, my dear sir, be-

172

THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

ing a connoisseur, will soon admit that never in all
your life have you tasted a wine to compare with
the one I’ll pour out for you now.”

Electrified, Herr Krotzl leaped out of his bed, got
partly dressed, and admiringly stroked one after the
other the six wine-bottles that stood before him
with all the earmarks of venerable age. There was
white bread, and the Strassbourg patty drew from
Herr Krotzl a half-belch, half-grunt that became a
hymn of joy as the first glass of the golden Bur¬
gundy trickled down his throat.

“W’at a wine! If I c’d have that all the time I’d
be a diff’rent guy! No wonder you Frenchies know
how to live, if you got wine like this!”

The second glass was drained to the victory of
Herr Krotzl, the third to “Down with the Jews,”
the fourth to “Long live beautiful Vienna, free of
Jews.” Then the neck of a bottle of blood-red
Bordeaux was broken, and when only the dregs were
left in it, and Leo was uncorking the third bottle,
Krotzl declared he loved him like a brother. At the
fourth bottle he acquainted the Frenchman with the
secrets of his sexual life, and proclaimed that skirts
over fourteen was nothin’ more nor less’n old wo¬
men. When they reached the sixth bottle Leo, un¬
observed by the half-dazed and quite dizzy Krotzl,

A DISASTROUS DRINK

173

mixed the wine with an equal amount of cognac;
but now they had to stop, for else it would have
been impossible ever to bring the worthy Deputy
downstairs. Besides, the correct time was twelve
o’clock, so that there was danger of Krotzl’s col¬
leagues coming in at any moment to look for him.
Leo’s own sobriety after this drinking party was
due solely to the circumstance that he had each time
emptied the contents of his glass under the table,
on the beautiful Persian rug.

With hard work Leo finished dressing the deputy,
practically carried him down several flights of stairs,
and, with the assistance of the chauffeur, put him
in the interior of the closed car. The chauffeur had
grinned as he nodded to the Frenchman, whom he
often drove about the town. Leo entered, sat down
beside Krotzl, who was lying in the corner dead
drunk, and the car rolled forward at moderate
speed.

The day before Leo had had an important con¬
ference with the chauffeur, beginning with the ques¬
tion:

“How’d you like to make a hundred French
francs?”

The chauffeur’s eyes had grown to the size of
saucers, his face had flushed and he had gasped :

174 THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

“Sir, I’ll take you to the moon for a hundred
francs!”

But the Frenchman’s demands proved much more
modest. He said that he wanted to settle a wager,
and that the chauffeur would merely have to wait
before the house in the Billrothstrasse until he, M.
Dufresne, would enter the car with a presumably
very tipsy gentleman. Thereupon the automobile
was to go townward to the Opera, where the French¬
man would get out. Then the ride was to continue
to the large insane asylum in Steinhof, far out in the
extreme southwestern section of the city. There
the chauffeur was to wait until his inebriated fare
would give a sign of life. This was followed by
further detailed instructions for the quick-witted
chauffeur.

Everything went off as had been planned. Even
before the car reached the Opera Herr Krotzl, after
a violent attack of sickness, was enjoying the sleep
of the just tippler, so that his companion could leave
him without any difficulty. While Leo hastened to
the Parliament the chauffeur continued on his half
hour’s ride to Steinhof; once there he calmly stop¬
ped in the middle of the road, and smoked one of
Leo’s good cigarettes after the other. It was nearly
two o’clock when Herr Krotzl finally woke up, his

A DISASTROUS DRINK

175

head throbbing. Minutes passed before he remem¬
bered where he was, and realized that he was all
alone in an automobile, and covered with filth from
head to foot. Finally, after some more minutes, he
saw that he was not before the Parliament Build¬
ing at all, but in the immediate vicinity of the insane
asylum in Steinhof. Confused he consulted his watch,
which, being an hour slow, pointed to one o’clock.
Horrified, Krotzl flung open the door, and vented a
furious flood of abuse on the chauffeur, who declared
with equanimity that he had understood Steinhof to
be indicated as the goal, and that the other gentleman
had got out on the way. Thereupon Krotzl tore
his hair, wept and shouted, almost went raving mad,
called the chauffeur a traitor, hinted at a fearful
conspiracy and revenge, and finally pleaded with
the driver, who was fast losing his polite attitude,
to drive to the Parliament Building at full speed.

The car actually went back about a thousand
yards; then, however, it stopped, far away from any
human habitation, and the chauffeur, shrugging his
shoulders, announced that he could not go on, as the
motor was out of order.

Entirely sober by this time, Krotzl now sprinted
the thousand yards back to the insane asylum.
There he confronted the door-man with so much

176

THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

vehemence that the good fellow took him for an
escaped inmate, and summoned some keepers. An¬
other half hour passed before Krotzl was taken to
a telephone; he could not, of course, be connected
with the Parliament Building immediately, as all
its lines were busy; and when he finally did get his
connection, and the secretary of his party came to
the other end of the wire, a voice shouted in his ear
that he was a drunken swine, a crook, bought and
paid for by the Jews, and that all was over long ago.

“The Jewish law has been repealed! ” With these
words ringing in his ears the wretched Deputy fell
in a profound and beneficent swoon.

CHAPTER XX.

THE REPEAL OF THE ANTI-
JEWISH LAW

When Leo entered the Parliament Building the
newly elected Presiding Officer had just greeted the
ministers he had chosen the day before to replace
the old cabinet, and had informed the Assembly
that there had been presented two declarations of
urgency to the effect that Paragraph Eleven of the
Constitution, prohibiting sojourn in Austria to Jews
or persons of Jewish origin, should be repealed.

A Social-Democratic deputy rose to move that
the declarations of urgency be taken up immediately.
In spite of the noisy objection of the Christian-
Socialists and Pan-Germans the majority voted for
the motion, whereupon the Presiding Officer gave
the floor to Dr. Wolters, the leader of the Social-
Democrats, as the first speaker in favor of the pro¬
posal.

Wolters pointed out that he and the other mem¬
bers of his party had opposed the law even three
years ago as a direct blow at the most sacred rights

177

1 78

THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

of man, and as indicative of retrogression into the
darkest of the Dark Ages. At that time the op¬
position had been hooted down, abused, and crowded
out of the hall; today, however, the once misled
and deluded people had brought them back in such
numbers that the power now lay in their hands and
in those of other liberal-minded men. Continuing,
Wolters sketched the events of the past few years,
pointed to the terrible collapse of Austria, cited strik¬
ing statistics, and closed with these words:

“The audacious, too audacious, work of the man
who once assumed divine powers and now could not
even obtain a seat in this House, has gone to pieces;
outside a hundred thousand unemployed citizens,
together with all our working but desperate people,
are waiting for the new House to open our gates to
a new future, and to give our Jewish fellow-citizens
the opportunity to work again side by side with us
— not against us — to employ their intelligence, their
industry, and their creative force in the interests of
our sorely tried and almost ruined country.”

After the applause, to which the galleries con¬
tributed their share, had died down, the second
majority speaker, Herr Habietnik, who had been
elected by the downtown business men, was given the
floor. In a whimsical speech, frequently interrupted

REPEAL OF THE ANTI-JEWISH LAW 179

by loud laughter, he described the poverty-
stricken, provincialized Vienna of the day, regaled
his audience with tales of his experiences in his line
of business, and declared:

“The tiniest hamlet is a metropolis compared
with Vienna today. Vienna has become a huge vil¬
lage with a million and a half inhabitants, and if we
don’t let the Jews in now we’ll soon see country
fair booths in the Kartnerstrasse instead of ex¬
clusive shops, and live stock markets being conducted
on the Stephansplatz. This retrogression, against
which they are powerless to do anything, has brought
profound despair into the hearts of the citizens of
Vienna. By deserting the Christian-Socialist party
the Viennese women and girls have not been the last
to indicate that they want to have again a flourish¬
ing, gay Vienna, a city of luxurious life, even
though it may have a slight Oriental tinge.”

Herr Habietnik’s further remarks were lost in an
odd restlessness that was spreading over the house.
What had happened? The Right had at last dis¬
covered that Deputy Krotzl was absent, and the
Christian-Socialists and Pan-Germans were in a
panic. They did not even listen to their own speaker,
but sent out ushers with automobiles to fetch Krotzl
from his downtown office or from his house in the
Billrothstrasse.

180 THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

The situation might have been saved if someone
had had the presence of mind to prompt the minority
speaker to continue his speech for hours, until
Krotzl should put in his appearance. But they had
lost their heads entirely; the Christian-Socialist
speaker, Herr Wurm, even curtailed his speech when
he noticed the disturbance and saw his colleagues
going out. And in a few minutes a Citizens’ motion
to close the debate and set a five minute limit for
all further speeches was passed by the required two-
thirds majority.

In vain did the surprised anti-Semites make a
loud outcry; the Socialist Presiding Officer ruled
with an iron hand, and permitted none of the pre¬
viously announced speakers to talk for more than
five minutes. Laboring under terrific tension, and
greatly agitated, the deputies poured back into the
hall in order to be present at the forth-coming roll-
call.

Herr Krotzl had not yet arrived; the ushers could
report only that he had not been in his office at all,
and had left his home in the morning in a notice¬
ably flushed state, accompanied by another gentle¬
man.

A Pan-German made the last attempt to save the
day. Requesting and being given the floor to speak
on standing orders, he said:

REPEAL OF THE ANTI-JEWISH LAW 181

“Deputy Krotzl is not present, and we have in¬
dications that he is being detained by force; indeed,
we have cause to fear that he is the victim of foul
play. This being the case, the House cannot pos¬
sibly vote on a law that will determine the fate of
our country. If the new majority of this House
possesses the slightest sense of decency it will agree
with me that we must immediately adjourn for two
hours. During that time we shall probably learn
whether our esteemed colleague, Deputy Krotzl, is
still among the living.”

The import of these words could not be ignored.
They were followed by a dead silence.

If Krotzl had really been prevented by force from
attending the session, they would have to wait, volt -
noli.

At this most critical moment a gentleman with a
little beard came on the floor furtively and unob¬
served; he beckoned Herr Habietnik to him, and,
breathing hard with agitation, whispered something
in his ear, whereupon Herr Habietnik asked for per¬
mission to speak.

“I can give the honorable House my word as a
gentleman that Herr Krotzl has not been murdered;
nor has he been prevented by force from attending
this exceedingly important session. At the present

182

THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

moment Herr Krotzl is somewhere in our city, in an
automobile, so soundly asleep as the result of indulg¬
ing in the flowing bowl that the chauffeur is unable
to rouse him. For the estimable Herr Krotzl, this
sole Viennese ornament of the Christian-Socialist
party, undertook in a small way, to celebrate his
victory early this morning, in the company of a
jolly neighbor; and he drank decidedly more than
he could stand. His neighbor, who has given me
this information, and whom I know personally as a
reliable man of honor, then entered a taxicab to¬
gether with Krotzl to come here. But he had to get
out before they reached their destination, as he
could no longer endure the stench in the car. For
Herr Krotzl belongs to the old guard that would
rather give up than die. I don’t knew where the
thoroughly alive corpse of Herr Krotzl happens to
be just now; but this doesn’t concern us, and surely
no one will demand that we adjourn until Herr
Krotzl has sobered up.”

The House rocked with laughter; and now the
Presiding Officer called the roll. One hundred and
six deputies voted for the elimination of the special
anti-Jewish legislation, fifty-three against — and the
law was repealed!

This time the hundred thousand men and women

REPEAL OF THE ANTI- JEWISH LAW 183

who were waiting on the street before the building
cried “Hurrah!” instead of “Hail!” They were not
as enthusiastic as three years before, but seemed a
little ashamed of themselves. However, they had
recovered their sense of humor, and jests began to
fly through the air again.

Immediately after the vote Leo rushed out of
the Parliament Building, jumped into a taxicab, and
sped to the Linke Wienzeile, to the Arbeit er-Zeitung.
There, pleading urgent business, he obtained an
audience with the editor-in-chief, conversing with
him privately for half an hour. As he was about to
depart the editor warmly shook both his hands,
laughing:

“You’ve accomplished something extraordinary,
and I rejoice with you with all my heart. I can’t
help admiring your impudence! Really, it’s impos¬
sible not to . .

“Call it Jewish impudence,” Leo supplemented

gaily as he hurried down the stairs.

* * * *

The extra editions of the newspapers, announcing
the end of the exclusion of the Jews, had barely ap¬
peared before a second extra edition of the Arbeiter-
Zeitung was cried out:

1 84 THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

“THE KRONE IS RISING!”

“Zurich: The telegraphed and telephoned re¬
ports of the decisive session of the Viennese Na¬
tional Assembly were watched with feverish in¬
terest on the stock exchange here. The definite
news of the repeal of the anti-Jewish law was
immediately followed by large purchases of kro¬
nen, the buyers including groups of American and
English financiers. The stamped Austrian krone
doubled its value by leaps and bounds, and had
tripled it by closing time.”

At six o’clock in the evening there appeared a
third extra edition that attracted attention through¬
out Vienna and called forth great merriment mixed
with slightly off-color jokes. The announcement
was as follows:

“FIRST JEW ARRIVES IN VIENNA.”

“We have the honor to inform the public that
the first Jew has just returned to Vienna from his
exile. He is the young but already world-famous
painter and etcher Leo Strakosch, who, longing
for his own country, spent the period of banish¬
ment in Paris, leaving that city the day before
yesterday to proceed to Lundenburg, on the Aus-
tro-Moravian border. When the news of the
nullification of the expulsion law was telephoned
to him he immediately went on by automobile to
his native Vienna. At the present time he is stay¬
ing at the home of his future father-in-law,

REPEAL OF THE ANTI-JEWISH LAW 185

Hofrat Spineder, in the Kobenzlgasse, where he
is now embracing his faithful and loving fiancee
after years of dreary separation and waiting.”

This extra edition represented a well-meant bit
of mischievous pleasantry on the part of the editor-
in-chief of the Arbeiter-Zeitung. It was followed
by an extra edition of the Weltpresse, containing
two sensational news items. One was to the effect
that the former Chancellor, Dr. Schwertfeger,
despondent over the wreck of his nobly and sincerely
conceived work, had committed suicide by means of
a bullet. The other was an announcement by the
Weltpresse that, submitting to the will of the over¬
whelming majority of the inhabitants of Vienna, it
would thenceforth appear as the organ of the new
Party of Active Citizens.

CHAPTER XXI.

“MY BELOVED JEW!”

From the office of the Arbeiter-Zeitung Leo had
of course gone directly to Grinzing. Lotte, who,
together with her parents, was already aware of the
results of the Parliamentary session, was waiting for
her lover at an open window on the ground floor.
And when the automobile drove up and Leo saw
her, the passage through the hall seemed too long
for him, he swung himself through the window, and
an instant later the two young people were in each
other’s arms, laughing and weeping at once. In
spite of his athletic skill, however, Leo had broken
a window-pane when he made his short-cut into the
house; and as this caused an audible crash, the Hof-
rat and his wife, alarmed, hurried in from the
neighboring living-room, only to stop in amazement
at the sight of their daughter being covered with
kisses by a strange bearded man. Until the Hof rat
began to cough so energetically that Lotte heard

186

MY BELOVED JEW 187

him and, flushing deeply, extricated herself from
her lover’s arms to present him to her parents:

“Papa — Mama — this is my fiance, Henry
Dufresne!”

“Leo Strakosch by rights,” he added as he threw
himself in the arms of the Hofrat and of his future
mother-in-law.

After the joy and confusion of the surprise had
abated a little, Herr Spineder did what a Hofrat
should do in such a case. He added: “Now, chil¬
dren, tell me everything just as it happened.”

And Frau Spineder did what any good house¬
wife would have done in her place. She cried, de¬
clared that she was so excited she couldn’t see
straight, and hurried into the kitchen to prepare a
supper to fit the occasion.

In the meanwhile the Hofrat, Lotte and Leo
conversed in the bathroom, where Leo cut off his
beard with a pair of scissors before he shaved and
told his story simultaneously. And it was fortunate
he did so, for just as he finished shaving and again
was a handsome, smooth-faced young man, some¬
thing quite unexpected happened.

There drove up an automobile containing Herr
Habietnik, a Socialist Deputy, and a converted
Municipal Councillor, who informed Leo that he

i88

THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS

absolutely had to go to the City Hall with them in
order to appear before the crowds gathered there,
and to endure an address by the Mayor.

It was useless to resist — Leo was forced to go
along; but Lotte, who assumed the responsibility
of bringing him back in time for the evening meal,
went with him.

They rode on undisturbed until they reached the
Schottentor, where their course was obstructed. For
here the crowd was so dense that the car could not
go on. Whereupon the Municipal Councillor leaned
out, and with excellent intentions, though not very
tactfully, shouted to the people:

“Hey, let’s get through! Herr Leo Strakosch,
the first Jew to come back to Vienna, has to go to
the City Hall!”

These words called forth a thunderous shout of
joy. The car was not permitted to pass, but had
to wait there with Lotte; Leo, however, now found
himself on the shoulders of two sturdy men, and
was borne to the City Hall amid the exultant cheers
and yells of the masses.

The beautiful building was illuminated again,
looked once more like a flaming torch; the men who
bore Leo on their shoulders had difficulty in making
their way there. And as the trumpets blared the

MY BELOVED JEW

189

Mayor of Vienna, Herr Karl Maria Laberl, stepped
out on the balcony, stretched out his arms in a
gesture of benediction, and pronounced an impas¬
sioned speech that began with the words:

“My beloved Jew!”

THE END

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